


Tabletop Seduction

by aneria, Steter Club ideas (aneria)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 42,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28323027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aneria/pseuds/aneria, https://archiveofourown.org/users/aneria/pseuds/Steter%20Club%20ideas
Summary: Dungeons & Dragons does make an appearance.The Nogitsune was in Stiles' body when Scott bit him, turning Stiles into a werewolf. No one noticed.No more pack.Bad friend Scott. Scott leaves Beacon HillsPeter doesn't know Stiles is a werewolf. Stiles is his mate and he wants him.slow burnbeta'd by nineorfour. the best beta ever.i will post weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Relationships: Melissa McCall/Sheriff Stilinski, Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 233
Kudos: 289





	1. Transition

**NOGGY  
FRIDAY  
** **MARCH 1st, 2013**

The Nogitsune left Stiles' body, taking Stiles' shadow and forming it into a solid mirror image of Stiles, literally. _I guess that's where Sir James Matthew Barrie (J.M. Barrie) got the idea forPeter Pan's shadow to have a life of its own. _They are now sharing Stiles' life force, and it's slowly killing Stiles because they are connected.

_Only Lydia realizes Stiles is dying, even if she doesn't understand the why or how._ She dreads him dying on her and leaving her alone in these tunnels with that sadistic monster.

**the loft**

Peter tries to tell Chris that Stiles is in danger and the Nogitsune is still connected to Stiles, somehow. He doesn't trust Chris enough to tell him how he knows. _His mate needs saving! He will do anything to save his mate! He feels something hooked into his Stiles, draining away his life.  
_

Chris doesn't trust Stiles or how he now appears to be separate from the Nogitsune. "Scott has Stiles' plan and Allison's silver arrows. We'll get Stiles and Lydia back in one piece. Why don't you wait here at the loft until we come back? I'm not putting any additional civilians in the line of fire." He also doesn't want Peter at his back. Argents and Hales don't make the best partners.

Peter growls. "You mean you don't trust me and you don't want me in the way or where I can betray you! _**I would never betray Stiles...** and his crew!" _He turns around and storms off in anger. He doesn't go to his apartment. He goes to Stiles' house and waits in his usual vantage point. _Across the street._ Being close to his mate's sanctuary calms him and his wolf, even if his Stiles isn't there.

**The tunnels under Oak Creek Detention Center** **  
**

The Nogitsune used Lydia as bait to trap Stiles. It wants him where it can see him and ensure he doesn't find a way to stop it.

_Stiles is dying, so Stiles doesn't understand why it wastes time and energy capturing him. Noggy._ The term Nogitsune terrifies him. _Calling it Noggy relieves his fear of it._

Stiles hears continuous whispering in his mind telling him to give up, and Noggy will walk away, letting the pack live. 

_Stiles in no way trusts a trickster demon, but he's too weak to fight, **for long.**_ He is so weak that he finally gives up the ghost of his fight. Both figuratively and literally.

As he dies, he hears Lydia whispering, “please don't die. Please don't leave me here. Alone! Please, Stiles! Please!”

**Across from the Stilinski house**

Peter suddenly feels cold, and he feels pain deep in his chest. "Stiles?" He gasps for breath as he falls to his knees. He clutches at his throat as he struggles to breathe and begs the universe to spare his mate. Stiles doesn't deserve to die alone, or even at all! He's the bravest person that Peter has ever met. He now wishes he had told the boy that he would follow him and his plans to the ends of the earth just to be with him.

**in the tunnels**

Stiles opens his eyes and looks around, only to see that time has stopped. “Lydia! What’s going on?” He stands and sees his body in her arms as she cries over him.

**several weeks later**

While time is severely slowed down among the dead, Stiles has researched Noggy in Japan and Beacon Hills. He's played a practical joke on the Space Needle in Seatle and the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower. He returns to the scene of the battle with Noggy.

Stiles walks around the area and observes the living hasn't moved _**much.**_ He reappears down in the tunnels where he died. He moves closer to get a closer look at Lydia. She's cradling his head and crying. That must be expensive mascara since it's not running down her face like _the Crow._ He wonders if she's crying over the fact that he's dead, the plan isn't working, or she's alone in forgotten tunnels under the villain's sanctuary, and there's no way they will discover how to get down here to save her.

A nearby ghost child tells him to put his hand on her torso, and he can feel what she's feeling.

He does and finds she's grieving the loss of life _**and**_ that they lost. She also mourns the loss of her friend.

**courtyard**

Walking into the back courtyard, Stiles sees Scott and his pack killing the last Oni. He knows it's the last one because he sees two dark vapor puddles on the ground and two odd fireflies flying away. _That means they lost solid form and it'll take them twenty to fifty years to rebuild their humanoid form._

Allison is dying in Scott's arms as Kira looks on. _It must hurt to see your boyfriend tell another woman that she's his first true love and he still loves her._ Allison’s ghost sits up and looks at Stiles.

He holds his hand out to help her up. “Welcome to Ghost World and I'm you're host, Stiles." He smiles and shakes his head. "Not really. I always wanted to say that. Don't worry. I like being dead a lot more than I ever liked being alive.”

Ally hugs him. “Stiles. We don't have a lot of time. You can only kill demons with silver, but the silver must stay inside their bodies. Tell my dad I love him.”

Stiles shakes his head as he points around to the living moving in a time frame that's hugely slower than the one that exists for the dead. “You might have noticed that we’re both dead. I can’t. Not unless he's dead as well.”

She looks off into the distance. “We don’t have much longer. Lydia can bring you back with my death scream.”

**tunnels**

Lydia looks off into the distance as something catches her attention and she whispers, “Allison? Not Allison! I can't lose both of my best friends.”

**courtyard**

Allison says, “we haven’t got long. _I can’t move on until I have your forgiveness._ I’m so sorry that I betrayed you to Gerard. I’m sorry I shot you with a tranquilizer on the field that night. _He hurt you because **I** made it possible_ because _ **I**_ wanted to hurt Scott and didn’t care who I hurt to do it. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me?”

Stiles nods. “That’s _**all**_ I ever needed from you and Scott. That you know that I **didn’t** make anything up and Gerard _**did**_ hurt me. God, how he hurt me! I forgive you. Everyone, _including Scott_ , was lying to you. _**You**_ didn’t know which way was up. It's not _ **all**_ your fault.”

She smiles and says, “thank you, Stiles. You need to go back to their world now. The land of the living." She opens her mouth and joins her own scream to Lydia's.

**tunnels**

At the same time, Lydia gets in Stiles' lap and screams her Banshee Scream at him. **_“Allison!”_**

  


_The combined screech pushes him back into his body._

He takes in a shaky breath of air, painfully forcing his lungs to work after months of disuse. His lungs find it hard to remember breathing. _He thought panic attacks hurt! Damn!_

Lydia sadly looks into his eyes and says, “Allison's dead. I used my death scream to resurrect you. We have to stop this demon before you die again. Maybe, this time, you can take its energy.”

His research taught him how to keep a steady balance of energy and magic between the demon and its host body, so neither dies or gets too weak while making the host immune to Noggy killing him by draining him. Stiles leans back, closes his eyes, and relaxes until he feels where it's pulling on his life-force. He taps into it and creates a channel like the Panama Canal.

Noggy's vastly more powerful than Stiles and keeping the levels of magic steady makes him much stronger, magically, and weakens Noggy. Stiles takes in a lot of its magic to stabilize them. When he feels stable, he opens his eyes.

Lydia smiles and helps pull him up on weak and wobbly feet.  
  
He leans heavily on her as they slowly work their way to the second floor where the others are searching for it. _Stiles doesn't know how he knows everyone's on the 2nd floor. He just does._ Once there, Stiles feels the coldness of Noggy's presence as well as its unimaginable rage and frustration. _It's desperate to remain free and terrified of imprisonment._ Stiles slows down even further as he whispers, “it's near.” He continues to look around for it. "I don't see it, but it's close. _Why don't I see it?"_  
  
Noggy steps out of the shadows and tosses Scott through a wall before Stiles and Lydia even register that it's there.

_Was it invisible?_ Foxes are natural chameleons and blend in with nature.

Is it possible?

_Does it have invisibility or does he revert to its shadowy form?_  
  
Lydia and Stiles nervously back away from it down the hallway as it advances on them.

It glares at them, shouting its arrogance, and slowly stalking them as they back away.

Lydia says, “We found a **_Divine Move._** We're not going to let you win! **_Ever!”_**

Noggy snarls, _“Divine Move? Divine Move! You think you can't beat me at my own game! I'm over a thousand years old! You **can** kill the **Oni** , but you **can't** kill **me!** ”_

  


Stiles leans forward and says, “no one's indestructible Noggy! _Many valiant heroes and their trusted allies have killed many a god_. **_All_** the old myths show that to be true!”  
  
It says, “this is real life, human! The hero doesn't always get a happy ending. It's called a tragedy. You've read all of Grimm's Fairytales! Now, you're living in one, or should I say, dying in one.” _It cocks his head with a sarcastic sneer as he realizes what Stiles called him._ “Calling me Noggy doesn't weaken me!”  
  
Liam helps Scott to his feet. They then silently circle to Noggy's other side before Liam steps forward in distraction and sneers, “no! But you forgot about the scroll. We can change you. You can't be a fox and wolf at the same time.”  
  
It falters and mutters, “change the host.” It sharply looks over his other shoulder as Scott grabs him.  
  
Scott snarls at Noggy, “your first mistake was killing Allison.” He bites down hard and fast into his arm like a rattlesnake.  
  


_The pain of the bite rushes through Stiles as he feels lycanthropy rushing through his system._ He knew this plan would probably kill him along with Noggy, he just didn't mention that tidbit. _He looked forward to this sacrifice, to his death._ Dying in combat to save his friends who have already abandoned him. Not having to see their faces again. Freedom from conflicts. Stiles thinks, **_"We must stop him at all costs. I’m expendable. It very well could be the fate of the world at stake here! I can't let it hurt my dad or Peter!"_** _Peter? Why would he think about Peter now?_  
  
 _Noggy looks at Stiles in anger! And triumph? Scott bit Stiles as well!_ ** _  
_**

Stiles grips his arm as he mentally screams, _**"Crap!"**_  
  
Everyone's focused on Noggy, so no one notices Stiles' pain. Even if they do, they assume it's due to Noggy's possession of his body.

Stiles flashes back to Scott touching him and feeling pain after Noggy took his Shadow and split his life-force.

Scott asks, "How much does it hurt?" Scott quickly dismissed it though.

[ ](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/31/ba/c4/31bac46eb6233a9ca5c0ce1669547820.jpg)

_Allison's dead._

That thought keeps going through his head. Stiles realizes she came to save him instead of hurting him. He feels that her death is because of him and Noggy. _Becoming a werewolf, **alone** , is his punishment! He **deserves** this! He expects, wants, to die with the demon since they share the same life-force. _He steps toward the floundering Noggy thinking, _"I don't want to live with this guilt and pain. I want to die! I don't deserve life!"_  
  
Kira drives her enchanted steel sword through Noggy’s chest.

It doesn't hurt Stiles, surprisingly, but it completely severs their connection. _The silence in his head is deafening._ Noggy's only remaining magic is what was inside him. That means that Stiles keeps the Noggy's magic that was inside him when Noggy dies. Does this make him a stronger Witch since he's not a demon? _God! He hopes he's not a demon!_ Stiles inwardly screams, _"Kill me now! Let me die!"_ He feels the echo of its pain. He moves to follow it into death.

Lydia pulls him back and whispers, “no! We need you! Stay with us! It'll kill your dad if you die.”  
  
The others are watching Noggy die and don't notice Lydia pleading for Stiles to live.

Stiles whispers, “but I'm not worthy. It's my fault! _Her blood is on my hands._ ”  
  
As Noggy makes one more grab at its connection to Stiles, cracks appear in its form. It turns into dust and collapses before reverting to a firefly.

Lydia says, “You **_are_** worth so much more. It's **_not_** your fault! _Kira's mother is guilty of calling it forth._ Don't let Allison's death be in vain! Let it mean that she saved you.”

Stiles nods and pulls back, blocking it with the echoes of Lydia's scream bouncing around inside him. _That's what gave him life. Wait! That's not from Lydia’s screech, that's from Allison's death? He's not sure which._  
  
Noggy's firefly form is imprisoned in the wooden Nemeton-wood-carved box by Isaac.

Stiles is overcome with weakness and falls into darkness. He's not sure if it's from the sudden relief of pain or the abrupt severing of Noggy's broken connection and his shadow snapping back into place. _Or the pain of Scott's bite._ Possibly it’s the massive magical energy surge. Fireflies can't hold as much magic. Or grief for Allison, and relief that he's still alive.

**Across town**  
Peter suddenly feels warm again, and the pain stops. He takes in a deep ragged breath. Calming as his lungs fill with sweet lovely air. "Stiles must be safe. Noggy must be dead. Thank god! I wasn't looking forward to going to the other side to find my mate and drag him back here."

**Copper Creek**

Stiles doesn't know how long he was out, but when he opens his eyes, Scott’s looking down with concern. _Is it from relief that Stiles isn't another casualty or that he's alive? That's not necessarily the same thing._ He feels the loss of Allison emanating from them. The sadness and grief are suffocating.

As they exit the facility, Argent says, "Stiles, it's not your fault."

Argent then schools them on what to tell the cops in their statements about Allison’s death.  
  
No one notices the traces of blood on Stiles' arm or the smell of the wolf.

He can smell their chemo scents, so he knows the bite took and he's already changing.  
  
Argent reiterates that it's not Stiles' fault.

_Stiles knows it is and nothing they say will change that._


	2. The Aftermath

**Sheriff's Station  
** **FRIDAY  
MARCH 1st, 2013**  
  
They arrive at the police station at the same time as Kira Yukimura's parents.

Noshiko Yukimura storms over and angrily grabs Kira's arm. “I have a plane waiting to take us to Japan.” Noshiko shoves her in the back seat of their car with Kira whining, “but, mom!!”  
  
They drive away.  
  
Stiles texts a guy that works for Alexi at the airfield. _“Text me when Noshiko's family leaves for Japan, and if anyone stays behind.”_ He gets an affirmative back.

  
**Sheriff's Office**

John's handling the continually ringing phones from all the chaos Noggy generated. He looks up as they walk in. “Stiles! Thank God you're okay!” He hands the phone he's holding to Tara and pulls his son into a tight embrace for a few minutes. Calming himself with the fact that his son is safe and alive in his arms. He can't lose his little boy.  
  


 _Scott doesn't look so happy that they won. Maybe he's disappointed that Stiles survived._  
  
John breathes a sigh of relief, looks at the others standing around Scott, and takes stock of their ragtag team. He covertly checks how well or how poorly they appear to have fared. When he notices a couple of absences, he arches his brow and inquires, “Allison?”  
  
Lydia sadly shakes her head. “Dead. Argent brought us here to make a statement about the attempted **_'car-jacking'_** and her ensuing death. It happened so fast that we didn't get a good look at anything besides the masks they wore.”  
  
John shakes his head in disbelief. “I never thought that we'd lose Allison.”

Stiles sadly looks down in guilt and then looks up at John. “Dad? _We **need** to talk._ In private.”

The sheriff arches his brow is confusion but leads Stiles into his inner office.  
  


**John's Office**

Stiles closes the door and the blinds. He then casts a spell he learned from Noggy, blanketing the room in pale blue light for a split second, leaving white sound, but leaving their heartbeats alone, so Scott doesn't realize anything is amiss.  
  
Scott doesn't realize what magic smells like so he isn't aware that Stiles uses magic.

That’s odd. _Stiles realizes that his magic smells like freshly turned earth, not ozone._ Magic normally smells like ozone. Like lightning. Maybe it's because he's becoming a werewolf.  
  
John looks at Stiles with concern. “Son? Are you okay? What's going on? Did you just cast a spell?”  
  
Stiles nods. “Something I picked up from Noggy. I can't have anyone overhear us?”  
  


  
John asks, “Is something wrong? Are you okay, son?”  
  
Stiles sadly nods as he looks at John and starts crying as he breaks down. “No. No, I'm not.” His knees give out and he sags down towards the floor.  
  
John catches Stiles before he falls and guides him into the chair and tightly embraces him.

Stiles sobs against John's shoulder. “Allison's death is **_my_** fault! Everyone that demon hurt, it's **_my_** fault! It's fitting that Scott's **_punishing_** me! I **_deserve_** to be outcast and alone!”  
  
John protectively wraps his arms tightly around his son and rests his chin on Stiles' head as he cries for a few minutes.

Stiles sniffs before continuing. “I'm not being very manly right now. Sorry, dad.”  
  
John says, “No one expects you to be okay with everything you've been through in the last few weeks. Hell, the last few years! You're allowed to crumble. You need to, so you can be strong again.”  
  
Stiles' tears silently slide down his face. “Scott kept me out of the loop all the time because I **_was_** human. That got me hurt, a lot. I can't be with them anymore, dad! They'll get me killed **_again,_** or even worse! **_You_** could die! I can't lose you, dad! Not you, too! I don't want to be totally alone.”  
  
His dad says, “easy son. What happened? **_How_** are you being punished? That demon wasn't you!" It takes him a minute to process everything Stiles just said. "Wait! **_Again?!_** Did you die?" He pulls back and looks intently into Stiles' wet eyes. "What do you mean **_was_** human? Shouldn't you mean **_are_** human?”  
  
Stiles sadly shakes his head. “Not anymore. Lydia used her death scream for Allison from this side as Allison screamed on that side to force me back into my body and bring me back to life.” He shows John his bitten arm.

“Noggy was in my body. He was connected to my life-force, even though he wore my shadow as a solid body. Maybe I was the shadow while he wore my body. That's why I was in such pain, weak, and so damned cold. I'm sorry, the Nogitsune. I'm referring to him as Noggy, so he doesn’t terrify me.”

John asks, “as you were saying, son? The Bite?”  
  
Stiles realizes he rambled on a tangent again. “Yeah, dad. We shared the same life-force and magic. Scott's pack didn't know that Noggy was draining my life-force and killing me. Lydia's the only one that knows I died! Scott bit both of us at the same time. He doesn't know that his bite is turning me. The damned scroll said to change the host. How he could not know that biting it bit me?"  
  
John looks confused and shocked. " ** _How_** is that possible?"  
  
 _Stiles shrugs and looks intently at his dad as he tries explaining why he's so vile and repulsive, why his dad shouldn't love him anymore._ “I was _**aware**_ the entire time Noggy possessed me, and I'll never forget anything it did, we did. _I couldn't stop it, and God help me, I liked that feeling of power and control._ I loved the feeling that I wasn't the weak human anymore. I wasn't the most helpless person in the pack anymore. Well, Scott never treated me like I was pack because humans aren't pack. To him. Maybe the weakest ally is more like it.” He scrubs at the tears on his face.  
  
John asks with concern, “does that mean you're a werewolf now?”  
  
Stiles looks at the floor and nods. “I already notice the smells and the sounds.” He looks up at John, eyes momentarily shining golden from stress, turmoil, and panic.  
  


John determinedly grabs Stiles' uninjured shoulder to get his attention, lifting his chin to look into his eyes. “You liked that feeling of power and control because you **_had_** no control! _It's Stockholm Syndrome,_ son. You know what that is. I know you do!” John hugs Stiles. “You'd **_never_** hurt anyone! _Noggy **didn't** kill **anyone** while possessing **you**_. Back ** _w_ _hen_** it possessed the soldier, Rhys, fifty to sixty years ago, he killed **_hundreds_** of people. Yes, this time around, it **_hurt_** people, but nothing permanent. No maiming or killing. _Your eyes are **gold** , not blue_. You are **_not_** a killer, son. _You're a good person!_ If you didn't feel remorse, I'd be worried.”  
  


John hugs Stiles and lets him cry into his shoulder for a few minutes. He clumsily pats Stiles' back. “The **_ONI_** killed Allison! It wasn't inside you when she died. That was **_the... Noggy. It_** and it **_alone!”_** Stiles calms down as John asks, “are you going to tell Scott and the others what you are now?”  
  
Stiles shakes his head. “No! I can't be around them anymore. I know they can't look at me without remembering that Allison's dead and I'm not. They will blame me. I blame me. She was their friend. Their pack. I was the outsider and I killed her as the Noggy.”  
  
John sighs in frustration.  
  
Stiles sighs. _“The McCall pack's finished._ Derek and Braeden already left town. Argent and Isaac are going to France in the next few months after he gets Isaac a passport. Lydia was Allison's best friend and will never forgive me for Allison's death. Scott had already moved his love on to Kira and she just left for Japan because of me. Liam and his dad are moving away because his dad has to see a specialist about his arm and then he has physical therapy to go through. Malia gave up being human and decided she'd rather be a coyote because I wasn't a good enough anchor for her. _I'm just the weak human to them.”_ More tears roll down his face as he breaks down again.  
  
John wraps him in his arms again and lets him sob against his chest for a few minutes. When the sobs stop John quietly and sternly says, “You can't take the blame for everyone leaving, son. That was inevitable. This place has been driving people apart for a long time. I think they were never supposed to be together in the ways that they were. You were the only one keeping them together. I'm not impressed with Scott's leadership skills. As far as his friendship skills, I don't think he has any. What about Peter? What's he doing after this?”  
  
Stiles shrugs with a soft smile. He likes Peter. He'll miss Peter. “Peter was on the fringes of their pack or packs if you count when Derek was Alpha. He **_never trusted_** or liked Allison after she **_hurt_** the pack and **_helped_** Gerard kidnap and **_torture_** me. _He can't stand Scott for siding with the villains_ **_after_** I warned Scott that they were the bad guys. Neither Scott nor Allison apologized for what they did to me and the pack members and just expected us to ignore everything they did to us, especially me.” _He flashes back on his memory of Allison's apology in the Ghost World._ "She _**did**_ apologize after she died, so she could pass on. I forgave her because Scott and her family were lying to her and playing mind games with her, especially Kate and Gerard."

Stiles wipes the tears from his eyes. “I buried my self-respect to keep Scott's friendship and he flushed me down the shitter! _Some friend he was!_ I can't do it anymore, dad. _I know Noggy hurt Scott physically,_ not as much as he hurt me, but enough. Scott never forgives. I mean he still holds a grudge against his dad and _he doesn't even know why Rafe left_. I know, but I never said anything. Noggy told Melissa that I know and have always known. She didn't know how to take it, so she shunned him, or me, or us.”

John goes wide-eyed that Stiles knows about Rafe pushing Scott down the stairs. He should have suspected Stiles overheard that phone call because Stiles is always eavesdropping on his phone calls. He bites his tongue and takes a deep breath.

Stiles doesn't notice his dad's reaction to that little nugget. He sighs in defeat. “I don't think... I don't think I want Scott to take me back, or stay friends with me. He looked disappointed that I'm alive. I'm so damn tired, dad." He looks up at his dad with such sad eyes that are heavy with tears. _"I wanted to die._ Lydia wouldn't let me die again. She wouldn't let me give up. _She said it would kill you if I die.”_  
  
John squeezes Stiles. “She's right. It would. I can't lose you! It's breaking my heart to see you so broken right now, son. My world revolves around you. I would not survive without you. You are all that keeps me sane and grounded. If you died, we would have a double funeral because I'm dead without you.”  
  
Stiles squeezes his dad as that sinks deep into his chest. He nods as he wipes his tears away and leans against John's desk. “I thought about everything the entire way here. How to continue my life away from Scott. How to hide what I am and how to survive, for you. I'm taking my high-school exit exam and I'm moving forward with my life.”  
  
John asks, “don't you have to schedule that exam in advance?”  
  
Stiles gives him a half-smile. “I have blackmail evidence against the principal proving he knew of Harris' involvement with the **_Hale Arson._** Kate was Derek's substitute teacher, working for him when she burned the Hales. I have proof that she never passed teacher certification. She was a registered pedophile at the time she was hired. I also have evidence Harris forced me into detention every day for three months because you questioned him about Kate. I have the reports I filed against him for favoritism and unfair judiciary punishment. The principal's not going to give me any problems leaving school early. Besides, my GPA is a 5.0”  
  
John does a double-take. “Kate was a substitute at that school during the arson?”  
  
Stiles nods. “She drugged sixteen-year-old Derek, after sex, and used his clothes to burn his family so the werewolves didn't smell her. You can see why Derek never said anything.”  
  
Dad says, “damn! I take it you couldn't prove it until after Harris died?”  
  
Stiles nods. “Scott won't be able to take his exit exam for another six weeks at the minimum. He's failing most of his classes, so I don't think he will be able to graduate on schedule and more than likely will have to repeat eleventh grade. I can handle what I am now. Hell! I taught Scott how to control and stop the shift. Please, don't tell them? Don't tell him?”  
  
John sighs. “Okay, son. We'll do it your way. But if you need _**any**_ help, any help at all, I'm here. I'll **_make_** time for you. I can't lose you!” John grips Stiles' good shoulder, looking intently into his eyes. “Promise to keep me in the loop. I don't want to be blindsided by **_anything._** I'll protect you from **_any_** fallout. I won't allow any hunters to hurt you.”  
  
Stiles nods. “I promise dad.” _It's the least he can do for all the months of lying and keeping his dad in the dark._  
  
They hug again. John uses a damp napkin from his desk to wipe off Stiles face to hide the evidence of his crying. The werewolf already hid the red-rimmed eyes from crying.

Stiles turns, walk out of the office door, **_and_** Argent stops him at the front door.  
  
Argent sees the puffy eyes and a slight blush to his cheeks and nose. You have to look real close to notice it and most wouldn't connect Stiles with ever crying. Argent knows that Stiles is blaming himself for Allison. He steps forward and grabs Stiles' bicep. “It wasn't your fault. I want you to **_remember_** that. When the Nogitsune first possessed Corporal Rhys, **_it_** immediately killed **_every_** man, woman, and child at the facility **_and_** the hospital. Guilty and innocent alike. You never killed anyone and it possessed you for weeks not hours like Rhys.”  
  


  
He looks around the room and back at Stiles again. “I've dealt with the Oni before. _The Nogitsune only partially controls the ONI._ They have their own intelligence and act on instinct when threatened. Allison killed one of them. They targeted her! _There was no way anyone could've saved her! S_ he knew that and that's why she ensured she told me she loved me and that she was proud of me before she left. She knew she wasn't coming back. I'm sure you did everything you could to protect her, even though she never protected you.”  
  


He looks into Stiles' eyes. “When it possessed you, it took weeks before he hurt a few people, but **_not one person_** died or was maimed. It _**wasn't**_ in ** _you_** when the **_ONI_** killed Allison. _**You** didn't bring that **thing** here, the Kitsune did._ It's ** _not_** your fault!”  
  
Stiles valiantly holds back his tears and looks at Argent with relief and appreciation. "Before she died she asked me to forgive her for letting Gerard hurt me and to tell you that she loved you."  
  


  
Argent smiles. “That had been troubling her for a while. Thank you for telling me. I'm here for you if you ever need me, 24/7.” He hands Stiles his business card. “Here's my number. Call or text me anytime, day or night. I'm here for you.”  
  
Stiles says, “thanks, Argent. That means a lot to me.” Stiles looks at Scott as he talks to Argent. _“There's no more pack. I'm on my own now._ Scott never warned me about the danger or protected me. He either pushed me to the side or betrayed me. I'm better off alone.”  
  
Argent nods stiffly. “I remember. That's probably for the best.” He gives Stiles a small fond smile as he walks away.  
  
Stiles nods and walks out the door. He smells Scott's relief as he walks away. _That hurts more than anything else. He thinks, “Goodbye, Scotty.”_


	3. Nightmares and Dreams

**FRIDAY  
** **MARCH 1st, 2013**

Stiles shakes Argent's hand and walks out the door without looking back.

_Of course, it's now a wolf pack of two. Scott and Lydia. Styles isn't sure if that makes him happy or not._ _No wolf pack means no fighting the Villain of the month that's in Beacon Hills because of Scott._  
  


Stiles drives home and parks his jeep in front of the garage. _He's overwhelmed by the emotional roller coaster._ He leans his head back on his seat as he tries to pool enough strength to drag his sorry ass inside and go up to bed. He continues sitting in Roscoe and decides to check his texts before he goes inside. It's been **_months_** since he's used his phone and he has to remember how to get to the messages. He leans forward and reads all his messages.

He leans back in his seat when he reads that Kira and her family flew to Japan, never to return.  
  
Stiles texts a thank you and sighs as he thinks things over in his head. He figures that's one more thing for Scott to blame him for. He never really liked Kira, but that's nothing against her. He sighs in dejection.

  
_Stiles notices movement and a **blue glow** where there shouldn't be anything._ _What's with the brightness? Nothing else glows. Is there something wrong with his eyes?_ He covertly focuses on the glow and after a few minutes of intently peering and focusing on what he's seeing he realizes that what he's seeing is... Peter hiding in the shadows across the street, between the houses. _That's odd._ He doesn't see auras, not even around Scott. _Why is Peter glowing?_ It's not because they're both wolves, _what could cause that blue glow?_  
  
He sniffs the air and smells the scents of worry and confusion coming from Peter in waves. _Stiles loves these heightened senses!_ If Peter wants to play creepy-stalker and think Stiles is oblivious and he's entirely hidden, let him. Stiles is too tired and depressed to give a damn!

He tiredly drags himself into the kitchen and grabs some milk, straight from the jug, enjoying his new sense of taste, before laboriously climbing the stairs to his room.

As Stiles closes the window shades, he sees Peter on the roof of the neighbor's house, in the shadow of a pine tree. _Peter may have hidden from his human eyes, but Stiles sees him plain as day with his werewolf eyes._ The blue glow helps. Stiles slowly peels off his shirt and examines the bite. It doesn't look as bad as it should. It's already healing.  
  
When Peter bit Scott, the bite was still there the next day. It didn't disappear until the following night. Over 24 hours later.

Stiles climbs into the shower and lets the hot shower jets knead the stiff muscles of his neck and shoulders until he runs out of hot water.  
  


 _The memories of all the chaos and pain generated by Noggy keep flashing through his head._ The arrow in Coach's stomach. The explosion in the Sheriff's office. God! His dad could have been killed in that! The power failure. The sword through Scott's belly. Knocking out Kira by slamming her head into a desk. Threatening and terrifying Lydia. Stiles looks up with a start. _He remembers **everything** Noggy did **except** kill Allison. __**He wasn’t involved!**_ Dad's right! He had nothing to do with it! Stiles forces himself to stand in the freezing shower as he grabs the soap and washes the blood from his various injuries that have healed.

He watches in amazement as the last of the bite knits shut like the way wolverine heals.  
  


He tenderly pokes and rubs the healed skin. It feels smooth and untouched. It's a little stiff, but it doesn't hurt. The mirror over the sink captures his attention as he wraps the towel around his waist. _He never liked looking at himself, but now he intensely studies his reflection to see if the werewolf is noticeable._ Is his wolf peeking out anywhere? He doesn't see anything different.

He moves closer to the mirror and gazes intently at his reflection. He opens his senses and stretches them as far as he can, marveling at hearing the neighbors on the left arguing, and then he hears teenagers in the house on the right having shy sex. Focusing on his reflection, he concentrates on his eyes. It takes a while, but he makes them glow a beautiful amber color. He continues focusing until he can make them shine at will.  
  


He stares at his hands as he concentrates on extending claws from his fingers. He makes them extend independently, one at a time, at various speeds, and at different lengths.  
  


 _He smiles to himself as he realizes that being a werewolf isn't going to be that bad_. It dawns on him that he's been on his own for a while. He merely believed if he didn't admit it, it wasn't real. Being a werewolf isn't as devastating as he thought. _He needs to hide his wolf, though._ He doesn't want Scott thinking he can control Stiles because he's an Alpha. "He's **_not_** my Alpha! I _**won't**_ accept _ **that!"**_ Scott is the weakest and most ineffective Alpha he's ever seen. Even Derek was a better Alpha, and his idea for teaching newbies to fight was to break their arm.

 _Adderall has a strong smell... maybe..._ With a little testing, he finds Adderall obscures the wolf smell. His math calculations deduct that it will hide the wolf smell for... about five hours. How long it works depends on how calm he stays. He works at pulling in his scent to hide it. Actively hiding his wolfy smell with the Adderall works for at least six hours. Eight if he's calm and a good deal lucky. He opens the window so he can feel the air, smell the breeze, and look at the moon as he climbs into bed.

Peter's still watching, but now he's in the tree directly across from Stiles' window.  
  
Stiles texts his dad that he's going to sleep and will see him in the morning.  
  
John texts back to get plenty of sleep, and he loves Stiles.  
  
Stiles smiles. "I love you too" and then goes to sleep.  
  


  
  
 _He awakens from a nightmare, screaming and flailing._  
  


It takes a minute to realize his dad's holding him and calming him. _He immediately counts his fingers, ensuring he's awake and not trapped in another never-ending nightmare._  
  


After counting them three times, John says, “look, ten fingers. It's okay. It's an ordinary nightmare due to mental torture from possession. You're awake, and I'm here, with you. **_You're safe!”_**  
  
He pulls his dad closer and cuddles up against his chest. _He smells waves of concern coming from both his dad and Peter hiding outside his window._ _How many nights did Peter sit outside his window and he didn't know?_ Looking up at John he pants, “my nightmares show Noggy using my body doesn't give me his guilt. _I was screaming for it to stop **and** not hurt anyone._ I couldn't do anything, and no one even realized it wasn't me. That bastard used my knowledge to hurt and taunt the people important to me. It ...”  
  
Stiles squeezes his dad's arm tighter as he can't find the words. _“... it acted like a child._ I knew that Raef drunkenly pushed Scott down the stairs, and Melissa told him to get out, but he got out of their lives instead of the house. Noggy tried implying Melissa made him leave Scott. She didn't! She protected Scott from him. He chose to leave. How could it think Scott would ever hate her for saving him from an abusive father?”  
  
John looks at Stiles with concern. “I should have known or suspected that you knew what Rafe did." He shakes his head. Hindsight is always twenty/twenty. "You're right. He read that like a little child would and not a teenager or even an adult, not to mention a thousand-year-old demon.”  
  
Stiles looks at the clock and sees it's after midnight, but John's home. “You're home early. You don't normally get home till I'm leaving for school.”  
  
John squeezes Stiles and says, _“I'm going to be a concerned parent and work reasonable hours for a couple of weeks, or months, or years._ At least until I know that you're okay. _I **need** you feeling safe enough to **stop** the nightmares and **gain** some of the weight back that you lost._ How much do you weigh? _You **shouldn't** weigh less than 150.”_  
  
Stiles sighs, “122.”

John's jaw drops in shock. “What?! Are you serious? I'll make us breakfast in the morning.”  
  
Stiles scoffs and smiles. “Um, you can't cook. You burn water.”  
  
John hmms. “You're right. You always do the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, pay the bills, do the laundry, and everything else needed to keep us going.” He sighs forlornly. “I've been the worst parent ever.”  
  
Stiles shakes his head. “You never raised a hand to me as Lahey did to Isaac. That's the worst parent ever. _You were a little absent, but you weren't abusive.”_  
  
John nods. _“Neglect is still abuse_." He sighs deeply. "Okay. We'll go to _Village Inn_ for breakfast. Can you teach me to cook? I'd ask Melissa, but I think she's a little busy. I'll try grocery shopping for the things on the list in the kitchen. _I think I remember where the store is even though it's been a while.”_  
  
Stiles smiles as he looks up at him. _“Village Inn!_ You're on! I love their orange crepes! As far as grocery shopping, Kroger closed a few years ago. Just go to the store on the corner of Main and Third.”

  
Stiles mulls over his nightmares and Noggy. “I have an idea. _Noggy possessed me because I didn't know magick._ I'm going to contact Alexi and ask for help learning how to protect myself and stop my nightmares.”  
  
John asks, “Your Russian Uncle Alexi? I don't like his reputation, but I know he'd kill anyone that even thought of hurting you. You're his favorite nephew. _I only wish he wasn't mafia connected_. What makes you think he can help?”  
  
Stiles thinks for a second. “When Noggy went digging through my memories, I saw my memories of Alexi and mom. _They did a few things that aren't humanly possible, when I was a kid._ When I asked them about it they told me that I imagined it. _Now that I know about the supernatural, I know better._ I think mom and Alexi are Witches or Sparks. _I don't know how to defend myself, and I'm scared Noggy's going to get free and come after me again._ It'll kill me if he possesses me again.”  
  
John says, “All right, son. Do what you think you need to do to protect yourself, only, remember your promise to keep me in the loop.”  
  
Stiles smiles. “I will, dad. _I'll keep you well informed of everything I do now that there is no pack and I can never be part of Scott's group again.”_


	4. Breakfast with Dad and Melissa

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013**  
  
Stiles wakes up at about 7 am and listens to the house.

His dad's in the kitchen... with Melissa.

It smells like they're drinking coffee as they talk quietly, so as not to wake him.

Melissa mutters, "everything's changed overnight. _Everyone's scattering to the far reaches of the globe_. The only ones staying in Beacon Hills are you and Stiles, Scott and me, and Lydia and her mom. Isaac and Argent leave in a few months. I think he's ensuring all the loose ends get tied up neatly."  
  
John sips his coffee. "If you don't mind me asking, how is Scott taking all of this?"  
  
Melissa sighs before taking a sip to give her time to find an acceptable answer. "He's doing surprisingly well. _I think he likes that there's no pack._ He should never have been forced to make life and death decisions. He's eighteen for goodness sakes. He hopes to graduate next year, but since he's being held back as he's failing several classes, it may be a couple of years. _He can finally be a teenager again._ He'll have his last year in school to just be a teenager."

_Wait till she finds out it was Stiles making the life and death decisions because Scott didn't believe anyone should die._ Scott's white and black outlook made everything so much harder than it had to be. Even Yoda took up a sword and fought the enemy.  
  
John starts another pot of coffee. "I'm not surprised Malia is living as a coyote again. _Stiles was keeping her human, and she didn't like relearning how humans act._ Animals are easier to understand. They aren't deceitful. Now there's no confusion for her of the way Scott treated her anchor because he's a weak human and not like Scott."

_Stiles smiles as he realizes his dad worded it not to give away that he is now, in fact, a werewolf._  
  
Melissa nods, "Isaac's looking forward to moving to France with Argent." She smiles. "Now, Peter. Peter was always on the pack's fringe. He has always been fond of Stiles and his intelligence. Respected him even. Quietly hating Scott for his whining about losing his humanity and the way he displaced that loss on Stiles because he's still human and Scott's not."  
  
John says, _"I think it's more than Stiles' intelligence._ Peter is or was the only one that treated Stiles like he's a person. Well, Lydia treats Stiles like her brother because of my ex-wife. But you can do some mean things to your brother and they rarely hate you for it. Malia treated Stiles like her adult or parent that she needed to teach her about life and fitting in. You don't always treat those people in your life the best. _I see the way Peter looks at Stiles when he thinks no one notices._ I'm well aware that both of them will throw their morals out the window if you mess with their family. I definitely see their mutual attraction to each other. There are so similar that it's scary."  
  
Melissa looks up at him as he leans against the counter, sipping his coffee. _"Do you have a problem with Stiles being interested in guys?"_  
  
John shakes his head. "No. I hate to say it, but I think Peter would protect and care for my son the way he deserves. I want Stiles to love someone as much as I loved Claudia and as much as I care for you. If that happens to be _ **a guy**_ , I _**don't**_ have a _**problem**_ with _**it**_. My _**problem**_ is he's _**seventeen**_ , and the _**legal**_ age is _**eighteen**_. _I **am** a police officer."_  
  
Melissa smiles and says, "and me, huh?" She pats his arm. "I care just as much about you, John, dear."

_God! It sounds like Lady and the Tramp's parents when they're discussing a baby and the dog, Lady, is supposedly sleeping at their feet._  
  
That's when Stiles decides to make his entrance before they set him up on a blind date or something. He walks into the kitchen as he's pulling his shirt down. "Hi, guys." He makes _the gimme hands_ gesture for the cup of coffee that John is pouring him.

John hands him a cup of coffee as Melissa looks at his stomach in concern. _He couldn't have lost that much weight, could he?_

She gets up and looks intently over him with her nurse's keen eye. "Stiles, honey? How much weight **_have_** you lost?"  
  
Stiles blushes, sighs, and runs a hand through his hair in nervousness. _Melissa is one of the few people that truly sees him._ "About fifty pounds. I weighed myself last night. I'm at 122. I didn't have an appetite when Noggy started possessing me, and then, ** _it_ **didn't believe in eating food. He was a demon that fed on pain."

She says, "we _ **need**_ to put some weight on you. _That's **too thin** , baby."_  
  
John says, "I said about the same thing last night and I even offered to cook."  
  
She stifles a laugh behind her cup. "John, dear. You blew up the kitchen with my pressure cooker when you tried to make rice. _Stiles and I are the cooks and you're the heroic police officer."_

John face-palms. "Um. I forgot about that. Maybe I better stay out of the kitchen, _for everyone's safety."_  
  
Stiles shushes him. "Dad does want to learn and is afraid to ask you because you're a very busy lady. I can teach him some, but I'm not ready to cook _**and**_ keep down what's in my stomach yet. I'm afraid the sight and smell of food production will be too much for me to handle. I don't have my appetite back yet."  
  
Melissa nods. "Understandable. Hmm. Scott eats at school so he's never around for breakfast or lunch. I can make breakfast for the three of us and teach John how to cook breakfast, _the easiest meal of the day."_

John smiles. "Scrambled eggs does sound easier than pot roast."

Melissa smiles and nods. "I can teach you how to make breakfast, and hopefully, Stiles stomach will settle down soon. I do recommend taking ginger to help settle your tummy. It worked wonders when I was pregnant with Scott."

Stiles nods. "I can make a healthy supper for you guys and I can try picking at it. If you want to visit us bachelors."

She smiles. "I can ensure you do a little more than pick at your dinner. I'd like that. I can only come over two to three nights a week. Saturdays when Scott's out on dates and with friends. Mondays when Scott has practice or Wednesdays when I work a half-day."  
  
John nods and looks at Stiles as he contemplates his next statement. "Bring Scott or at least offer. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I already said I'd bring Stiles to _Village Inn_ this morning since I tend to start fires in the kitchen. Join us." He looks at her nervously as he decides if he's ready for his next decision and then just goes for it. "If you could... umm... make me a full grocery list, I'll go to the store this afternoon. _I ... um ... haven't been to the store... in years."_

  
Melissa makes the grocery list while Stiles tries his cup of coffee. _Ugh!_

Now he sees why Derek and Peter drink gourmet coffee. He discreetly pours it out.

John notices and arches a brow.

Stiles purses his lips, eyes flash, and makes a disgusted face to let John know why.  
  
John hides a laugh.  
  


  
**at village inn  
**

Stiles orders a kid's breakfast meal because he doesn't have much appetite.

The waitress looks at him funny.

Stiles ducks his head in embarrassment. "I've been _**sick**_ lately, and I _**still**_ don't have much of an appetite. This is the _**first**_ solid meal I've had in _**several**_ weeks."

She nods knowingly and bustles off. _She immediately thinks of cancer since he doesn't seem like the anorexic personality type. He's not trying to show off how thin he is, he's trying to hide it.  
_

They talk for over an hour and Stiles slowly nibbles at his meal.

Stiles finishes about a quarter of his meal and then picks at it the rest of it while they talk. He finally can't take anymore and pushes his plate away. There's still almost half of it left. He feels stuffed to the gills. _Stiles feels a little nauseous from the full feeling._ It's been such a long time since he's felt remotely full that the weight in his stomach is uncomfortable.

_From the looks Melissa and John are giving him, his nausea shows._

Stiles sheepishly smiles and apologetically says, "if I take one more bite, I'm going to explode, _and not in a good way._ Thanks for breakfast guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate not being alone this morning."  
  
Melissa kisses Stiles cheek and says, "anytime, honey."  
  
John says, "I'm happy to spend time with you, son." John looks down at his plate as he pushes a piece of sausage around. "I realized how _**much**_ of your life I _**missed**_ out on because _**I**_ locked myself away in my _**work**_. I've been a _**negligent**_ parent. _**I'm sorry.**_ I plan on doing _**better**_." He looks up at Stiles hopefully.  
  
Stiles stands up and nods. "Thanks, dad. I appreciate that and I'm looking forward to it. I have to go now because I need to talk to someone in Little Russia. I'll see you at supper, guys."

He hugs his dad and kisses mom's cheek. _**Does** he think of her as a mom and not mama McCall? When did that happen?_  
  
Melissa smiles. "I'll be there, honey. I saw you have the ingredients for a stew, pot roast, meatloaf, or roasted chicken. What would you like me to make?"  
  
John says, "Stiles always has enough stuff to make just about anything not pork-related and I suspect most of the beef is half beef and half turkey."  
  
Stiles laughs. "I have to watch your cholesterol dad. I'll take anything, but pot roast. I think that's too heavy for my stomach yet. Maybe chicken in rice, cooked with orange juice instead of water. That sounds good."  
  
Melissa says, "with a nice salad to go with it. I love a good salad."

Stiles giggles and walks out to his trusty blue jeep. _Roscoe._


	5. Uncle Alexi

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013**  
 **Little Russia**

Stiles walks into a large auto shop with the sign stating _Avtoremont_ over the door. _Alexi's auto shop._

Just as he walks into the front lobby, the girl at the front desk slaps one of the mechanics and yells, "I quit!" She storms out the front door in a furious snit. _Well, she won't be back._

The mechanic smells like a werewolf.

The phone's ringing and there are several lights flashing on it. _Now, there is no receptionist_ and the werewolf mechanic can't figure out how to answer this new-fangled phone since it's an automated system, with multiple lines.  
  
Stiles jumps over the counter and says, "I've got this. If you could tell Alexi that his little wolf is here, I'd appreciate it."

The mechanic gives Stiles a funny look but wants to flee from the chaos he created, so he quickly escapes to find Alexi.  
  
This phone system is easier to figure out than the one at Beacon High School was.

Stiles answers the phone easily. "Hello. Thank you for calling _Avtoremont._ This is Stiles. How may I help you?"

When Stiles hears a rough Russian accent, he immediately switches to Russian. _"Eto Stiles. Chem ya mogu tebe pomoch?"_  
  
They reply. "Smena masla?" They want an oil change.

Alexi walks up and watches Stiles with a smile. He hands Stiles the price list and the booking calendar out of the top drawer of the desk.

Stiles gives the guy on the phone a quote and a time estimate. He then schedules them an appointment for tomorrow at 2 pm.

He looks up to see Alexi beaming broadly at him.

Stiles happily jumps up and gives Alexi a big Russian bear hug. Well, Polish.

Alexi squeezes him tightly before setting him down and ruffling his hair.

He has a very faint Russian accent, which Stiles knows is fake. Alexi's Polish, like Claudia, Stiles' mother, Alexi's baby sister. The man is still built better than any of Scott's werewolves ever thought they were.

Alexi asks, "would my favorite nephew like a job?"

He points to the empty front desk. "I happen to have a position that needs filling."

Stiles smiles at how much he's missed spending time with his uncle Alexi. "Actually, yes. I'm taking my exit exam from high school, Monday. But first? I need to talk to you about something, in private. Can your werewolf watch the shop so that we can talk?"

The Mechanic grits his teeth and balls his hands up as he bites back a growl.

Alexi's smile disappears as he cocks his head to the side and neutrally asks, "my what?"  
  
Stiles looks up and shines his golden eyes at his uncle before looking back down with a little trepidation. _Revealing he's a werewolf to anyone makes him nervous._ That's his secret that he wants to keep, to protect his dad... and himself.

Alexi says, "Oh. I see."

Stiles shakes his head sadly and looks up with great sadness. "No. It's worse than anything you could conceive. Do you know what a Nogitsune is?"  
  
Alexi gets an angry face and shouts in Russian to the werewolf mechanic, "close the shop! Put up a sign that says I have a family emergency and we'll open no later than tomorrow."  
  
Misha nods and does as Alexi says.

Alexi and Stiles disappear into the office.

Stiles casts his new favorite spell, _the soundproofing spell,_ again. He spends several hours telling Alexi about everything that happened in Beacon Hills. From the night that Scott was bitten, a few years ago, until last night when he became a werewolf.

Alexi asks a few questions here and there about Deaton or Scott. The man gets furious about Scott's callous way of disregarding Stiles.

Stiles then asks if Alexi and his mom are Witches.  
  
Alexi nods and says, "your mother died before she could teach you and your papa doesn't like me much. I didn't think he wanted me to show up and train you magick. You need to learn so you can protect yourself. Normally, Witches, at least trained witches, don't survive the wolf's bite. There was a connection between you and the demon, so it was possible. Did you keep some of its power when the connection broke, and it died?"  
  
Stiles nods. "Maybe half of its power. It looked at me as it lost its form, but it didn't die. It smirked. I'm not sure why? I'm afraid he's going to return and possess me again. His shadow body turned to dust, and its firebug form was locked in the Nemeton jar again. It's still alive! It's still out there somewhere."

Alexi says, "I will teach you to protect yourself! That demon smirked because your body is now in chaos. He's a chaos demon. Chaos makes him happy. You're a wolf now, so your body's safe from him! You can't be a wolf and a fox at the same time. His magick you took is now yours, permanently. _ **Forever.**_ It can't be taken from you. It makes you a more powerful witch."  
  
Stiles nervously says, "Deaton said I was a Spark. What's the difference between a spark and a Witch?"

Alexi says, "a spark works magic by focusing thought and belief on the task while a Witch typically uses spells, potions, and items to work spells."  
  
Stiles nods. "I believe Deaton knew where the Nemeton was the entire time, but he said he didn't. He made us sacrifice ourselves to find it, putting darkness in our hearts."

Alexi knows that's not what that sacrifice did. "Were there herbs in your ice bath when they drowned you?"

Stiles thinks and nods.

Alexi gets a grim face.

Stiles looks at Alexi as he remembers the Nemeton wood jar. "The jar was carved from the Nemeton's roots, _by Deaton_ , _**after**_ Talia burned. He had to know where it was. _He lied to us and tricked us into the sacrifice._ I've always had an uneasy feeling about Deaton."  
  
Alexi rubs his chin as he thinks. "It sounds like Deaton planned the entire thing. He might be planning on taking that demon's, the Noggy's, magick for himself. Where is this jar now?"  
  
Stiles shrugs. "I don't know. I think Deaton has it."  
  
Alexi nods decisively. "I'll contact all the local Witches and covens I know and have them scry for it. We need to separate Deaton from Noggy. ASAP!" Alexi lays his hand on Stiles' shoulder as he gently asks, "Little Wolf, do you like being a werewolf?"  
  
Stiles nods. "At first, I thought it was a punishment, but it's not. I met my wolf, Lucien, in my dreams. He tried to stop my nightmares, but couldn't. Now that I know about the supernatural and I watched Noggy rifling through my memories, I realized what you are. I was hoping you could help me stop the nightmares."  
  


Alexi says, "Very well, Wilka. Here's what we're going to do. I'm giving you a job, starting Monday, after you finish your test. I'll train you, _with my son,_ every morning from 6-7, and every night from 4-5, even when Danny has lacrosse practice. Well, every day but Sunday. We need to rest sometime."  
  
Stiles smiles happily. "That would be awesome!"  
  
Alexi looks towards the front desk. "Excellent. That lazy girl that used to be my receptionist got $12.50 an hour. I'll give you the same pay, _with benefits._ Monday through Friday, 7-5. I always have overtime available on Saturdays from 10-2, and I close on Sundays. We close for lunch, every day, from 1-2 pm. We have a family discount plan. I hear you drive your mother's old clunker of a jeep. We can start fixing it up for you."  
  
Stiles smiles. "That's great. Thank you, Uncle Alexi. My jeep needs a lot of repairs. I was too busy saving Scott's ass the last few years to get anything fixed. _You can only do so much with duct tape."_  
  
Alexi chuckles and walks to a locked bookcase, unlocks and opens it. He collects a book and hands it to Stiles. _'To Ride a Silver Broomstick.'_ Alexi says "Read this first. It gives a good starting knowledge base."  
  
Stiles looks down as he wrings his hands. "Can you help me with the nightmares?"  
  
Alexi nods. "Possibly. Let me check the darkness in your heart that you mentioned. It sounds fishy to me. That could be one of Deaton's dark spells."  
  
He pulls an amethyst crystal out of a leather bag, blows on it, and then slowly moves it around Stiles' head and chest. It grows darker near his heart.

Stiles finds it hard to breathe for a minute, and then he feels a weight drop from his chest that he didn't realize was there.  
  
Alexi says, "it was a dark spell. He made a backdoor to tap into your magick. I broke the connection and removed the energy tap. You shouldn't feel tired and depressed now. Deaton can't see that you're a werewolf, so you're safe from him." He hugs Stiles as they leave the office. "Misha! Be nice to my nephew. If you fuck with him, I'll have a fur rug in front of my fireplace, made from your furry pelt."  
  
Misha turns pale. "Yeah, boss. Got it."  
  
Alexi looks at Stiles. "Wilka? I'll see you on Monday, when you start working for me, **_after_** your big test. For now, drink chamomile tea before bed. Between that and what we just did, your dreams should be manageable, until you learn to control them."  
  
Stiles hugs him again and then heads home to make supper for his dad.


	6. Test Talks and Deceptions

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013**  
  
Stiles parks in the driveway at the same time as his dad pulls up in his cruiser.

John nods at him as he gets out of the car and walks to the trunk to get his bags of groceries. He's a little proud of himself that he accomplished his first grocery run in years. Alone. He didn't even have to call anyone to help him out.

Stiles immediately rushes over to help his dad carry them in.

He leans into the trunk. He spots something in his peripheral vision. He nonchalantly tilts his head, supposedly to search the trunk, and spots a blue glow behind the corner of the house across the street, but feigns unawareness. It's Peter. He isn't about to give away his status as a werewolf by noticing things with his heightened senses.

He catches a delicious smell in the wind. God! _Peter smells so damn good!_ He doesn't remember the man smelling this good! His wolf is purring and wagging its tail. _Down boy!_ We are _**not**_ going to go up to the man and sniff his neck. He balls his hand up into a fist and closes his eyes as he mentally has to step on that instinct and need with a lead foot.

He does so absolutely love Creeper-wolf's scent. He doesn't detect cologne or aftershave. It smells like the forest on an autumn day. _Earthy and fresh!_ They can find his aroma anywhere, even under the sewers. _What cologne smells that damn good?_ They want to get closer to that scent but Stiles knows he can't. Not without giving away his race change. He's a little afraid of anyone finding out.

Stiles stands up with a couple of bags and stops dead in his tracks. Wait! _When did he start referring to his wolf and himself as we?_

  
Stiles' wolf, Lucien, wags his tail and yips happily **_'MATE!'_** This statement derails Stiles and he freezes as he takes a deep breath and clutches the bags. _Mate?_ Soul mate? How long has Peter known they are mates? Since the parking garage? Peter did say _he **liked** Stiles._ Wait! Is that what the blue glow and the amazingly attractive smell are? Signs to identify his wolfy mate?  
  
Lucien wags his tail, nods his head enthusiastically, and yips, **_"MATE!"_**  
  
Maybe Peter was hinting at that at the hospital when he leaned seductively against the wall and said, _"you must be Stiles!"_ The fact that he bothered to know Stiles' name when he was supposedly stalking Scott should've been a red flag! That explains his creepy creeping and stalking.  
  
John notices Stiles stopped in mid-movement and seems lost in thought. He calls over his shoulder, "Stiles? Son? Are you coming?"  
  
Stiles ducks his head guiltily. "Sorry, dad. I got lost in thought. Really lost in thought. I'm coming!" He grabs the remaining bags from the trunk and follows his dad into the house, balancing five bags of groceries.  
  


  
  
They work together in the kitchen. They quietly and efficiently unpack the groceries onto the table and counter.

John empties the last bag onto the table and proudly says, "I got everything on the list, son." He holds up the list with every item crossed off in pen.  
  
Stiles looks around at all the groceries and arches his eyebrow in confusion. He can't spot the vegetable he needs. He looks at John and asks, "where's the lettuce? I want to start on the Ceasar Salad before Melissa arrives."  
  
John sets the bag of carrots on the counter as he hands Stiles a head of cabbage. "Here you go, son."  
  
Stiles looks at it in confusion. _Cabbage?_ That isn't lettuce! He makes a confused face. Is this a joke? OH! John doesn't know the intricacies of vegetables. Some things look similar but are different. Like bananas and plantains. Maybe he got confused.  
  
John worriedly says, "It's got to be fresh, because of how tightly wrapped the leaves are. Right?" Now he knows something's wrong, but not sure what.  
  
Stiles snickers and cocks his head as he tries not to laugh. "Um ... that's not _quite_ how it works, dad." Stiles realizes what happened. It _**has**_ been a long time since his dad went to the store.

  
  
That's when Melissa rushes in through the kitchen door. "John! Stiles! I just got the DNA and paternity test results that you asked me for on Malia. _**Now**_ I understand why you wanted it. I mean. I was confused, but these test results must confirm what you suspected. I have no clue _**how**_ you could have suspected this. _It took long enough to get these results._ I can't believe a rush job took six weeks! _I'd hate to see a slow job!"_  
  
John looks at the envelope she's holding and scratches his head. "Stiles? Why did you do a paternity test on Malia? We know Peter is her father."  
  
Melissa says, "Stiles said he didn't think the ages matched up. She just started getting her molars, so she can't be twenty. You get your wisdom teeth between eighteen and twenty-one. If she just started to get them, then she can't be nearly twenty-one and he thinks Peter couldn't possibly be even remotely close to thirty-nine."

John asks, "why not?" He turns to Stiles. "What makes you question his age?"

Melissa says, "When I dated Peter he said a few things that made me wonder about his age."

Stiles nods. "He and I talked when we took breaks from researching to eat. He talked about things from his formative years and his early life with Talia." He makes them all coffee as he talks. "Peter never heard of the original _Dark Shadows_ with Barnabas Frid or _Dr. Welby_. He said he grew up watching Full House, Wings, and Coach. Those shows were on in the 90s. It didn't add up. _He also doesn't remember his mom._ Like at all. How do you _**not**_ remember anything about your mom? Her death or her leaving you or something. Anything. Not even what she smelled like. All he remembered was living with his sister Talia. He was born at home and never went to school. He never saw a doctor, not even for inoculations. I find that suspicious, even for werewolves." He hands everyone a cup of coffee and they sit at the table. "I hired a private detective. _Talia wasn't his sister._ She was his mother."  
  
 _Stiles hears a thump across the street from Peter falling off the roof in shock._

_Peter mutters, "How in the holy hell?"_  
  
John says, "wait! What? How? I don't understand."  
  
Stiles quickly tells them what his PI found. "Peter was born at home in 1984. Talia had an affair, and they wanted to keep it quiet. Satomi hints that Talia's affair was with Deucalion because he was always with her. If it wasn't him, then he knew who it was. Talia dropped out of high school because of _some illness_ she contracted from a visiting relative and finished her schooling at home." He looks meaningfully at Melissa. "How many werewolves can contract some unknown illness that easily?"

Melissa nods her head. "They are immune to diseases and viruses."

Stiles continues. "Talia got a GED. Peter's only 27. She didn't list a father on his birth certificate. _Anywho._ Mom, what did you find out about Malia?"  
  
She waves the form around and says, "You were right! She's not Peter's daughter! She's Deaton's!"  
  
Peter growls across the street as the sheriff asks, "are you sure?"  
  
Stiles looks in shock. "That explains why Deaton knew Corrine's name. Everyone else simply knew her as the Desert Wolf. I was hoping I was wrong about Deaton being her father."  
  
Melissa says, "I double and triple-checked. I'm positive. I double-checked the birth certificate on Malia. She's not twenty. She's seventeen. Deaton adjusted the time, so it was more believable that Peter's old enough considering no one knew Peter's age. I checked all the records with live female births registered that year. I found her birth certificate. It says the parents are Alan (last name unknown) and Corrine."  
  
John can't let Peter's age go. "How can Peter not know how old he is? I still don't understand how that's possible."  
  
Stiles shrugs. "Talia homeschooled Peter. I think she wanted a tight leash on him, so she kept him close. _Or._ She was afraid Deucalion would steal Peter. She couldn't admit that she had an illegitimate child with the Alpha of another pack."  
  
Peter mutters, "That's why that bastard went out of his way to be buddies with me!"  
  
Stiles puts the cabbage down on the counter. "By the way, mom, there's a slight menu change. I'm making coleslaw instead of salad."  
  
John looks confused until Melissa takes the cabbage. "I was looking forward to the salad, but this is an excellent head of cabbage. It should make great coleslaw."  
  
John blushes and rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment as he says, "That's my fault, Mel. I mistook cabbage for lettuce. I'm sorry. I need someone to hold my hand in the grocery store, as well as the kitchen."

Peter snickers _"cabbage for lettuce._ He really doesn't know anything about cooking. I would love to get Stiles in my kitchen and see how good of a cook he is while I impress him with my expertise in the kitchen and _maybe the bedroom."_

Stiles snickers. He first suspected the man is a master chef when he brought in his homemade spaghetti. He could taste that Peter lets it simmer most of the day.

  
Melissa smiles and says "I'll take you up on that. _It's not like I need an excuse to hold your hand._ I'll have you up to a professional grocery-shopper in no time."  
  
Stiles hides a smile at her flirting with his dad and how oblivious John is to it. "Dad, she's flirting. She said she'd like to hold your hand."  
  
A flustered John says, "oh? Oh!" He smiles a big sappy smile at Mel. 

Stiles rolls his eyes as he gets up puts up the groceries they won't use for supper.


	7. Dinner Conversations

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013  
**  
As they set the table, Stiles asks, "is Scott's coming to dinner?"  
  
Melissa shakes her head. "Sorry, not tonight. He has a date with Kira."  
  
Stiles stops setting the table, drops his head in resignation, and lets out a deep sigh.  
  
John looks at Stiles worriedly, and Melissa seems confused. 

John walks over and squeezes Stiles shoulders comfortingly.

Stiles sees Melissa's arched brow of worry. "Kira and her family moved to Japan last night. They aren't coming back. So, that was an obvious lie. I wish Scott didn't think I was stupid."  
  
John sets the plates on the table as he gives Stiles a wan smile. "I don't think he thinks you're stupid, son. Scott's so used to ignoring you that he didn't notice you standing there when Kira left for the airport. I don't think he's aware you know that she's gone." He pats Stiles arm comfortingly.

Melissa is beginning to realize she's been overlooking Scott's bad behaviors and those behaviors affected Stiles more than she realized.

Stiles looks sadly at John. "It's okay, dad. I knew Scott wouldn't want anything to do with me after everything that happened with Noggy. I can't say I blame him. _I don't want anything to do with myself either._ It's all my fault. _**Everything**_ is my fault. If I figured out that Deaton was actively sabotaging us and he is one of the bad guys sooner, maybe..."

_Peter growls quietly across the street,_ and John tightly squeezes Stiles into his arms in a bear hug that lets him hide his face in John's shoulder.

Melissa then one arm hugs him as she says, "well, w _ **e**_ do want to have you around and _we would be very upset if we lost you._ I can't excuse Scott's behavior any longer and I'm not going to make any more excuses for him. He's a young adult and he needs to take responsibility for his own actions and stop expecting you and me to clean up after him."

Stiles quietly sniffs, nods, and goes back to setting the table, so he doesn't have to look at anyone. "I'm trying to separate Scott's treatment of me into a different shoebox and not let it affect me so much. Technically, he flushed our friendship down the drain when he met Allison. He proved it when he betrayed me to Gerard for her."  
  
Stiles looks sadly at John. "I was kidding myself that it was an oversight. I mean, neither one of them ever said they were sorry for handing me over to him or for what he did to me. Hell, Scott accused me of making it up because I was jealous that he could trust Gerard. Even with my broken ribs, a split lip, and visible abrasion on my cheek, _and he thought I made all of that up!_ I still had the wound from the tranquilizer dart that Allison shot me with on the back of my neck, you can't fake that."

Melissa quietly adds, "and the taser gun burns on your abdomen."

_Peter growls quietly across the street. How dare they hurt Stiles like that! He knew Stiles was hurt then from the pained way he walked and the smell of blood and pain, but he didn't know that Gerard had **tortured** Stiles like that._  
  
Stiles hurriedly adds, "I'm fine with it, or, at least I don't think about it anymore. Mostly."  
  
Melissa pats his back as she says, "I'm sorry. I didn't know he had any involvement in that. You told me about Allison shooting you with the tranq gun and the taser gun when I taped up your broken ribs. I'll talk to Scott and _he better get his act together."_  
  
Stiles shakes his head and holds up his hand to stop her. "Don't bother. I told Scott that Allison shot me with a tranquilizer and handed me over to Gerard. He said she wouldn't do that, and Gerard wouldn't torture humans. He implied I was jealous of their relationship and was trying to split them up or that I didn't like her. I didn't like that she was an unstable hunter that hurt the pack every time her feelings got hurt. Mostly by him."

_Across the street, Peter mutters "it's about time someone else saw Allison for what she was. All the females in that family were a little unhinged."_

John squeezes Stiles shoulder as he sighs.

Stiles looks at Mel. "No. It's fine. I don't want Scott forced into talking to me. _I'm moving on with my life._ I'm good." His eyes light up as he remembers something. "Oh Yeah!"  
  
He looks at John as he remembers a few things he wanted to tell him. He grabs the juice out of the fridge. "Alexi did something to break the spell Deaton was using to tap into my magick. Scott may want to see a witch to break the tap into his wolf. Alexi also said I should drink hot chamomile tea before bed to help me relax enough to reduce nightmares."  
  
 _Stiles thinks even his dad heard Peter's growling that time._

John dismisses it as the neighbor's dog though. "Hold up! What spell did Deaton put on you and when?"  
  
As they eat Stiles explains all the weird shit he discovered about Deaton, from him dismissing the spiral carved into the deer to the cops at the time _that he filed the report on the carved deer_ with the state police. That's what brought Laura back, by the way.  
  
John asks, "what deer with a spiral? I don't think I heard about that."

Stiles looks at him oddly. "The spiral carved into the side of the deer _three months_ _**before**_ Peter bit Scott." Stiles finishes his montage with Deaton's bogus trip to Japan to collect a form of moss _that only grows in California_ and that Deaton has the jar Noggy is in, hidden away, somewhere. Deaton told the Kitsune that Scott killed Noggy when he didn't.  
  
At the end of this, Melissa says, "so that bas ... brat tricked the three of you into killing yourselves. So he could tap into Scott's wolf, Allison's hunter, and your magick. Just in case you noticed the effects of the spell, he said that was the darkness in your heart from the sacrifice, and it was irreversible?"  
  
Stiles nods. "In a nutshell, yeah. Alexi _**is**_ contacting other Witches to scry for the demon." _He silently thinks and Deaton._ "Isaac trapped it in the jar _Deaton carved from the Nemeton_ roots, _**after**_ the Hale fire. What gets me is no one even asked how Talia's claws moved from the Hale House during the fire to the Calavera stronghold, in a wooden jar, carved by Deaton, from the Nemeton's roots."  
  
John says, "wait a minute. He knew where the Nemeton was the entire time?"  
  
Stiles looks intently at his dad. "No one even connected that to Deaton. Does he have everyone that blinded? I immediately suspected him of something when we confronted crazy Alpha Peter in the school. I mean we spent the entire time running and hiding, and _Deaton was there the **entire** time,_ but unseen and unheard from before Peter showed up until after he left. I remember that he was in the EMT truck laughing and smiling and he said that Scott saved him. That's the only time I've ever seen the man smile."  
  
 _Peter growls at that, and Stiles hears him mutter, "I'll kill the bastard!"_  
  
John asks "what do you mean?"  
  
Melissa says "that does make Deaton look guilty. _**Is**_ Peter crazy?"  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "No. Not at all. It's just, when he was insane, he was very different than he is now, that he is sane. It's like death reset his sanity. Maybe it's that _clarity of death thing_. I could see where Peter was fighting his instincts. I always refer to that version of Peter as crazy Peter because it's not the real Peter. I mean, I can trust this Peter, but that Peter was working on base instincts and could only focus on revenge and a very simple and warped, childish idea of pack."  
  
Melissa says, "pack? but he wasn't trying to bond with Scott."  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "No. He wasn't. His wolf told him to make a beta but not to bond with him. It thought making a beta would be enough of a bond. That's one way of knowing he wasn't rational. Human's know about bonds and relationships, wolves only know connection by bite or blood."  
  
John asks, "Blood? You mean like bloodline? Like Laura or Derek?"  
  


Stiles nods. "As a matter of fact, that reminds me of something I've been theorizing for a while. I never asked Derek because it's a sore subject. I think Laura was personally involved with Kate."


	8. Laura Wasn't Innocent

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013**

Everything stops when Stiles says, "I think Laura was personally involved with Kate."

A minute later Melissa asks, "why would you think that? Hunters and werewolves don't mix."

Stiles looks at his dad. "Tell me, dad. Why would a victim, monitor animal attacks here in Beacon Hills, from New York? Why would the appearance of a Spiral make them come back? Spirals mean revenge or vendetta. _If you are a victim,_ wouldn't you run the other way? Unless, you're _**not**_ a victim, and you want to tie up any loose ends. Maybe kill any witnesses." _Stiles looks down as he thinks how to phrase this as he's very aware that Peter is listening from across the street._ "Follow my reasoning. If Laura's with Kate and they want to be together, the Hales _**and**_ Argents have to die by their enemy's hand. Then Kate and Laura could join together and kill the guilty party. Derek was left alive, and Peter was never expected to survive."

John sits back as he mulls over what Stiles is suggesting. He asks, "so what you're saying is, you think Derek was the scapegoat and they purposely left him alive?"

Stiles nods. "Yes. When Peter attacked Harris, he had Laura's list of every Harris in Beacon Hills. I talked to a few of them, with a picture of Laura. They said talked to them and she was looking for a Harris with glasses to help her study for a chemistry exam. Her girlfriend told her that Harris was the best resource for that. How did she know he had glasses if she wasn't involved with Kate. The only reason you connected him to the fire was Peter attacked Harris at the school."

Stiles takes a deep breath. "Peter got that list from Laura's stuff, meaning he got the list of his victims, _or should I say the arsonists,_ from her as well. He only burned the two that Scott recognized from Peter's memory of them throwing gasoline onto Peter's house. The others were animal attacks. You never found any evidence of a connection. You suspected them only after their deaths and noticed they had priors for arson."

John asks, "how do you know what memories Peter showed Scott."

_Peter says, "I'd like to know that as well. It shouldn't be possible."_

Stiles runs his hand through his hair nervously and tries to control his racing heart. He can _**not**_ let himself have a panic attack. _Not right now._ "When Scott used his claws to get in Noggy's head to find me, Noggy went through _**his**_ head. I know everything Scott did and everything that he thought, from approximately five years ago up until the other night. When I say he betrayed me, it was more than just telling Gerard where I was and when I would be alone." Stiles sighs and looks down in guilt that he knows. "Scott went through my computer and erased all the evidence I had against the Argents on my hard drive as well as giving Gerard the hard copies to burn. It was a good thing I kept a copy in the cloud and mom's old safe in the attic."

  
John says, "Argent told me that Gerard was pissed because he already sent a guy to kill me. The guy winged me instead of killing me to convince you to hand over the backups. You refused because you knew he would kill us both if he had them and by not handing them over you did more to keep us alive."

Stiles nods. "Yeah. I'm not stupid or naive. Scott told Derek he wanted to be in Derek's pack to fight Gerard, but he was actually spying on Derek and me. He was telling Gerard all of our plans and moves because **_he_** didn't like Derek telling him what to do. He didn't need a second father and was pissed Derek told him not to play lacrosse."  
  
Melissa shakes her head in disappointment. "That's why he did that? He didn't like Derek acting like a father to him?"

 _Peter says, "I knew I hated that brat for more than being a self-centered, narcissistic brat that changes sides at the drop of a hat."_

Stiles nods. "That and not having a choice in becoming a werewolf. He never forgave Peter for that. Allison told Scott about an electrical fire they had in February of 2005. A month after the Hale Arson. Her Aunt Kate was staying with them for about a week. Her dad was suddenly called out in the middle of the night, _probably werewolves,_ and came back at 5 am. Carbon monoxide knocked out Allison and Victoria in the living room. Kate had supposedly gone out for coffee, at 3 am. She could've set that up as an accident. I think that if the fire _**had**_ killed _Argent and his family,_ Kate and Laura would've set up Derek as their restitution. Laura would've shown he was after revenge for the Hale arson and then killed him to appease the Argents, which would've left only Kate and Gerard alive."

Stiles sighs as he pushes his food around with his fork. "Kate was his baby and could've gotten away with it, especially when he came down with cancer and needed an Alpha. _You know_ that he knew about his cancer, _for a long time,_ with as much medication as he took. He was even taking a handful of pills at a time, dry. No water. Most people can't do that with a couple of pills or even aspirin."

John asks, "dry? Wait. I did see that. More than once. It takes a long time to get to that level of familiarity with taking large amounts of medications."

Melissa says, "cancer specialists start you on one medication at a time to see how you handle it and what side effects they have to counteract. He had to know about his condition for at least four to five years."

 _Peter snarls, "how about eight."_

Stiles arches his brow as he leaps with logic. "So it's feasible that he found out at least eight to ten years ago and Kate was offered clemency for her wolf lover if she got Alpha Laura to give him the bite. The bonus would be killing Talia and Peter."

John says, "that's possible. I didn't know as much about the arson and circumstances of things back then. I mean I didn't know until you told me last night that Kate was Derek's substitute teacher and how she got Derek out of his clothes so she could use them to get past the family's werewolf senses to kill them."

 _Peter muses, "how the hell did Stiles find out all of that. I only found out because my nurse found the... how did she find... crap! My nurse was working with Gerard the whole time." Peter growls loudly._

Dad looks out the window and says, "the neighbor's dog is unusually loud tonight. Maybe I should check on them after dinner."  
  
Stiles nods. "I believe nurse Jennifer was working for Gerard and Peter was his backup plan for becoming an Alpha."  
  
Dad turns back to look at him and asks "why's that?"  
  
Stiles fidgets. _**"Deaton**_ filed the deer report on _August first._ Nurse Jennifer arrived in Deaton's office on _August 5th._ Someone emailed it to Laura on _August 10th._ The ISP address of the computer that sent it came from North Carolina, _where Gerard was hunting a pack of werewolves."_

_Peter growls. "Now I'm glad I killed the bitch!"_

  
  
John says, "hmm? That does add up to more than a coincidence. Good detecting son."  
  
The Sheriff's praise makes Stiles' wolf wants to roll over in circles, wagging his tail happily.  
  
Melissa cocks her head to the side as she thinks about everything. "Stiles? You said you trust Peter, and Scott always said that no one could trust him, but you always have trusted the man. He's a killer or at least, he was, when he was insane. His eyes are blue. Are you sure you aren't biased?"  
  
Stiles sits back and makes himself as small as possible. "Before the fire his eyes were gold. The bodies of the kids that died in the fire had their necks broken before they burned. I think he killed them so they wouldn't burn to death. Mercy killings don't make you a cold-blooded killer. He felt guilty for killing them and that's why his eyes are blue. You know he didn't feel guilty about killing the arsonists or Kate."  
  


 _Peter mutters, "how the hell did he find that out? Not even Derek knows that! He assumed my eyes changed because I killed the killers."_

Stiles hugs himself. "Besides Peter never lied to me. If he's going to betray you, he takes satisfaction in telling you to your face, not to trust him or watch your back. He doesn't do anything without reason. If he does something to you, it's because you did something to him. The only time he was less than thrilled with me was when I said something I shouldn't have when he suggested we write off Boyd and Erica. He figured since they left Derek's pack and ran away that they deserved whatever the Alpha pack did to them."  
  
Melissa says, "I didn't know they were running away."  
  
Stiles nods. "I tried to tell Erica and Boyd that other packs don't just accept you with open arms when you abandon your Alpha, especially if hunters are after them. Others would see that as cowardice and betrayal."  
  
John asks, "what were you saying about Deaton?"  
  
Stiles nods and looks at him. "Melissa and I discovered that the Darach's victims were all killed with the threefold death methods. I researched and found that's how druids commit human sacrifices. I pointed it out to Deaton, and he already knew. I was a little pissed that he didn't even give one of his vague, non-helpful hints. Deaton has the Nogitsune, and he's draining it's magic, making an alliance with it, or planning on releasing it. I was afraid it would possess me again if it gets free. That is, until Alexi pointed out, I'm now immune to that. Just in case, he's going to train me in magick with his son."  
  
John says, "I didn't know he has a son. Will it be odd for you to learn with a little kid?"  
  
Stiles nervously bites his lip. "Umm, dad. His son's about a year older than I am. Danielek is pretty cool. He plays lacrosse at my high school. We're good friends."  
  
 _Peter mutters, "Wait? Danny? No way! That explains why Stiles wouldn't leave him unprotected when the Alpha twins made a play for him."_

 _Stiles thinks oops. Need a subject change._ "When I arrived at Alexi's auto shop, his secretary was in the process of loudly quitting. I jumped in and figured out the phone system while the mechanic got Alexi. He gave me her job. He's going to give me a family discount to fix my jeep. I'm moving on with my life, so I took the job." Stiles is rambling and knows it.

John says, "that's a lot to process. Can you handle working there?"

Melissa asks, "what about school?"

Stiles sheepishly says, "I'm taking the exit exam on Monday morning. My GPA is 5.2, even with all the constant running for my life. I don't think I'll have a problem. Alexi's phone system isn't nearly as complicated as my school's. I get off from the garage at 5 pm, Monday-Friday. They close from 1-2 weekdays, for lunch. He's offering me constant overtime on Saturdays, 10-2 pm."

John nods, "Parrish asked what time I need to get off every day. I'll tell him 5 on Monday- Friday, and then we'll get off at the same time."

Melissa says, "that sounds good. Scott has lacrosse Monday thru Friday from 4-6 pm. I'll leave him a standing invitation for dinner afterward. His games are on Saturday nights at 8 pm if anyone ever wants to attend."

Stiles nods. "I'll keep that in mind."

Melissa helps us clean up before leaving with a supper plate for Scott.

Stiles suggests she keeps a spare plate here to make one up for him. She can just change it out when she visits.

She nods and says, "okay, as long as I get to contribute since it's the four of us that will be eating these meals several times a week."

John nods his head in agreement. He's just happy that he gets more time with Mel.


	9. Finding Lucien

**SATURDAY  
** **MARCH 2nd, 2013**

Stiles and John take their showers and then go into the living room to watch TV for an hour or two before bed.  
  
John watches _COPS_ while Stiles reads the book Alexi gave me.

Stiles meticulously makes a few notes in his notebook as he goes. When the news comes on, he pulls out the book he used for researching werewolf mating habits for Scott when Scott first got involved with Kira.

Stiles matches up some of the odd things he saw Peter do over the last few years as the behavior indicates a werewolf separated from his mate that's still fixated on protecting and providing for that mate. Whether the mate realizes it or not, they still feel required by their instincts to do it. Werewolves watch over their mate while they sleep to protect them when there's no other pack member around, ensuring their safety. They provide for them whenever possible, like ensuring they have food, clothes, a place to stay, and money.  
  
Stiles leans back, thinking about all the last-minute get-togethers Scott called so they could, or rather, _he could research_ and plan what to do to stop the latest villain of the month. Since it was always at the last minute, Stiles didn't always have time to grab something to eat on the way. There were many times Peter came in with a foot-long sub and split it with him, or he brought a pizza, and he always gave the first slice to Stiles. It was either sausage or cheese, _Stiles favorite types._ As usual, Scott was forever pissed that Peter was late, but Peter never cared and ignored him.  
  


If Stiles thinks about it, Derek once asked why Peter came with pizza if _he doesn't like it much?_ Peter glared at Derek and said, "you don't know as much about me as you think, _**nephew."**_ Stiles thought that meant he did like pizza. _What if he doesn't like pizza and he was providing food for his mate? Me.  
_

Stiles remembers the flat tire he had five miles outside of town, in the rain. He was sitting against the tire of his trusty jeep, _trusty to break down,_ as he was debating walking into town and getting a new tire. He hated leaving his baby on the side of the road.

Peter just happened to run across him on the roadside and gave him a lift to the service station he always went to in Little Russia. He didn't even get mad that Stiles got his expensive leather seats wet.

Stiles remembers another night his baby broke down on the roadside. The pack was dealing with the Alpha Pack at the time, and Scott hadn't warned him about the Alphas being in town.

Peter just happened to be driving down that back road and stopped to help Stiles out. He even held the flashlight, talking to Stiles as he worked on Roscoe, and sassed the boy the entire time. That sassing kept him from panicking about being alone on a deserted back road by himself.

He realizes Peter never did say why he was out there in the first place.

The day Stiles ran out of gas because the gas gauge broke and needed a lift to get some gas. Yet again, Peter happened to be driving by and came to his rescue. _Was he following Stiles?_ Has he always stalked Stiles?  
  


Stiles thinks Peter's known they are mates for a long time. _Why didn't Peter ever say anything to him? **Did** _he think Stiles would reject him? Was it because Stiles isn't legal and underage? Maybe it's because his dad's a Sherrif? Stiles wonders when Peter realized Stiles is his mate.

In the parking garage, _Peter gave off mixed signals._ He was acting scary and sexy at the same time. He was constantly in Stiles' personal space, showing that he's powerful _and desirable._ _He **had** to know by then._

He sighs in frustration as he drops his book down on the table in front of him. _None of these books mention the blue glow._ Is the blue glow visible on a human mate of a werewolf? Maybe it's just that totally enticing scent. _God, the man smells so damned good!_

Peter wanted to bite Stiles' arm and not his side. That location was never brought up at any other time. All the other times that he knows of an Alpha bitting someone, it was on the side. Scott, Boyd, Erica, Isaac, Jackson. Even Lydia was bitten on the side. Scott immediately looked to her side when he checked to see if she was turning. Scott knows the side is important for making a Beta.

Before that, Stiles remembers that night at school. Scott says Peter wasn't trying to kill them because he wanted Scott to do the killing. _But did he?_ Did he want Stiles killed along with Allison and the others? Did he only want Scott to kill Allison? Peter knew he needed a banshee, Lydia. Logically, Peter watched the classroom when Scott was supposed to attack, until Allison's voice snapped him out of it. What if... Did Peter want to use Scott's temporary insanity and him killing Allison to force Stiles into accepting Peter to save himself or Scott? _Too many questions and not enough answers._  
  
 _Stiles shrugs and researches full-wolf-shifts._ It appears it's more common for some hereditary werewolf bloodlines than others. _The Hales are known for it._  
  
Wait. He perks up at the next paragraph. When a werewolf embraces their wolf instincts to the point that they can talk to their wolf or wolf consciousness, it enables _**any**_ were to shift into a full-wolf. It's rarer among bitten wolves, _but it does still happen._  
  


Stiles scratches his head as he thinks about _**Lucien.**_ _This book says he can talk to his wolf,_ and it doesn't mean in your dreams.

Lucien said Peter is his mate. His wolf _**can**_ talk to him. Maybe, if Stiles meditates, and looks inside himself, he can find Lucien. _Lucien didn't go anywhere. He's part of Stiles._ Stiles thinks about it... Lucien acted strongly enough over Peter's scent and Peter watching them that he yipped, _ **"mate."**_ Maybe, Stiles can use memories of working with Peter, spending time with him, and talking with Peter. Not to mention remembering the man's gorgeous blue eyes and muscles to drool over could help him to reach Lucien. If he can turn into a wolf, _that would be the coolest thing!_  
  
He closes his book and tells his dad, "Goodnight, dad. I'm going to bed. I'll make us some omelets and turkey bacon in the morning."

John smiles. "That sounds good. I'll see you in the morning, son. I _**do**_ work a half day tomorrow. Noon to four."  
  
Stiles smiles and says, "okay, dad." He heads upstairs and gets ready for bed. Instead of going straight to bed, he sits cross-legged on the bed and then calms himself down enough to look inside himself for his wolf, Lucien. It takes him over half an hour, but he finds him. They talk for about an hour about scents, and sounds, and how to differentiate what you're hearing and smelling. He also gives Stiles hints on how to hide what he is from other werewolves they don't trust, _read Scott_.

Lucien likes that Peter's outside their window every night. Lucien wants to let Peter know they know he's there.  
  
Stiles calms Lucien down and points out that Stiles is still considered a child or a pup by _**all**_ adults. Next month he turns old enough to be in a relationship with other adults like Peter. After his birthday, they can accept Peter. Then they can tell Peter that They're a werewolf and Peter's their mate. _That makes Lucien ecstatic._  
  
Lucien gets excited when Stiles says, "I _**want**_ to see how Peter will go about _letting us know he's interested in us."_ Lucien happily purrs when he learns that _we both want Peter._ He keeps yipping, **_"mate, mate, mate!"_**


	10. Danny Makes an Appearance

**SUNDAY  
****MARCH 3rd, 2013**  
  
Stiles gets up at 5 am and stretches the kinks out of his spine as he thinks about the possibility of shifting into an actual wolf.

He's curious if he can do it. He strips down, sits on the floor, and concentrates on becoming a real wolf. He imagines he has paws and fur. After some time, he feels his eyes glow. After a few more minutes, he feels itchy, but not the type you need to scratch. He holds his breath in anticipation as he holds his hands out in front of him. He watches in awe as his body shits forms.

It's not terrible or painful as he saw in old movies. It's more like he melts into a wolf. His bones don't break and reform or anything like that. It's more like his human shape is replaced with his wolf shape. It's like a blink, and you miss it kind of thing. His wolf form took the place of his human form in the same spot. Now he sees how wearing natural fabrics that are closer fitting will shift with him. Becoming a wolf isn't even as weird as shifting into a Beta. Beta shifting is like he's forcing parts of the wolf out into his human form. That's why hair grows on his face as his fangs and claws extend.

He jumps up and down in pure joy that he can do it. Now he understands why Peter loves to shift every full moon. Having four legs is incredible! This form amplifies his senses even more than they were before. Like this, if he listens, he can hear the neighbor's heartbeat from here.  
  


The sound of his massive tail thumping the floor as it wags draws his dad in to check on him.  
  
John pauses at the doorway when he sees a giant brown wolf happily wagging his tail. "Stiles? Tell me that's you, son?!"  
  
Wolfy Stiles emphatically nods his head and shines golden eyes as he yips a happy greeting.  
  
John breathes a sigh of relief as his knees buckle and he slides to the floor.  
  
Stiles shifts back and dresses as he talks to John over his shoulder. "Sorry, dad. I read that if you fully integrate with your wolf that you can turn into a wolf."  
  
Stiles glances at John. "Scott can't do it, but Talia and Laura could, and so can Peter. I wanted to see if I can do it also. It's supposed to be rarer with a bitten wolf than a born wolf because born wolves don't fight their animal instincts while turned werewolves fight anything not human about them." Stiles ties his shoelaces. "When you are born this way, you tend to embrace it because it makes things so much clearer and sharper. It's like, all my life I was half-blind and deaf, and suddenly I got glasses to let me see and a hearing aid to hear."  
  
John smiles at the analogy. "So, you like being a werewolf and the senses and instincts that go with it?"

Stiles nods. "Yeah, dad. My wolf instincts are a lot like PTSD. Only, I'm no longer reading people's body language and behavior as I wait for someone to hurt me. Now I know I can more than likely protect myself and get out of any situation. Before, I was the _**weak human**_ that always got hurt because no one ever warned me that there was any danger." Stiles rolls his neck and sarcastically says, "that's more than likely what caused my PTSD in the first place."  
  
They head down to the kitchen.

_The clock reads 8 am._

They cook breakfast and talk. Just as they sit down to eat, there's a knock at the door.  
  
Stiles smells Danny's aftershave. He smiles as John answers the door.  
  
Danny says, "Stiles? Since we're lab partners, I figured we could go over our project. I mean, it's a slow weekend and all."

Dad says, "Danny! Grab a plate, son. We were just about to eat, and I'm sure you're hungry this early in the morning."  
  
Stiles looks at John nervously. "Dad? The three of us need to talk."

Stiles looks towards the front door and listens to see if Peter is across the street or in the general area. "He's not around." Stiles breathes a sigh of relief. He looks at John. "Dad? I promised you that I'd keep you in the loop. I need to confess to something I did a few years ago."

Danny sits down with his plate of food as John leans back in his chair and waits for Stiles to tell him what he needs to. You can't push Stiles, or he clams up. You have to give him the time to chose his words.  
  
Stiles sighs as Danny nods. "Remember about nine to ten years ago, when Danny and I got caught breaking-and-entering into the city courthouse. Courthouse Security later realized that someone hacked into one of the computers."  
  
Danny says, "I said that I was the one that hacked it."  
  
John says, "yeah. I remember. Stiles? Didn't I ground you for two weeks? No leaving the house, no friends over, and no phone."  
  
Stiles nervously nods as he squeezes the back of his neck. "Danny didn't hack that computer. I did. I needed to create an alias for Danny with a believable backstory. _His real name is Danielek Koldunski._ As in Uncle Alexi's son. He's my cousin."  
  
John nods. "Where did you come up with a name like Mahealani?"  
  
Stiles shrugs. "My first name has to do with a full moon referred to as the wolf moon. That's the full moon in January. Mahealani is Hawaiian for the second day of the full moon. With three days of the full moon, the middle day is the actual full moon. _I didn't know about werewolves at the time or hunters."_  
  
Danny says, "it's a good thing the Argents never associated my name with werewolves."  
  
John rolls his eyes. "Lucky us. Of course, the Argents are focused on the Hales. Danny? _**Why**_ did you admit to hacking if you _**didn'**_ t do it?  
  
Danny nervously ducks his head. "To build more background and test how detailed and believable my new identity is. Dad wants me safe from his occupation and association."  
  
John looks back and forth between them in disbelief. "All this time, you two never let on to anyone that you're related?"  
  
Danny says, "dad wants me to have a normal life and not have a target on my back because of what he does. I came over here today because my dad says Stiles will be learning magick with me. He said I need to ask him about why and what happened, concerning all of the chaos and drama centered around our school, Stiles, and Scott?"  
  
Stiles flashes golden eyes at Danny. "I'm a werewolf. Scott bit me. He just doesn't know it. He's pretty much shunned me from his group."  
  
Danny says, "I think Scott and Lydia are the only ones left in _his group._ Isaac's preparing to leave for France with Argent."  
  
Stiles sadly sighs. "I need to state something first. Dad? I need you _**not**_ to get your gun. _Let me explain everything first."_  
  
Dad's one eye half closes in frustration and aggravation like Clint Eastwood's angry tick before he blows everything up. "That doesn't bode well, but okay. What's going on?"

Danny gets very curious about what Stiles has to say.

Stiles sighs in relief. "I've integrated with my wolf and can full-wolf-shift as well as talk to the internal representation of my wolf. Peter's been watching our house every night. All night. The strength of his scent around the roof, tree by my window, and across the street indicate it's not a new thing." Stiles nervously look at John. "I love his scent, and it's strong enough that I want his scent around...," He makes his embarrassed head ducking and rubbing the back of his neck gesture, as he adds, " _all the time._ I also notice that I now see a blue glow around Peter as well. I only see this glow around him and no other werewolf or being. My wolf says that's because he's my mate and Peter's actions indicate that he knows it. I think he's known for a long time."

Danny looks at John. "That makes sense from what I've seen of the way he treats Stiles compared to the way that he treats everyone else."  
  
John leans back and crosses his arms. "Why don't you tell us about everything, from the time Peter bit Scott, until ... oh, say ... 5 minutes ago? Everything that you conveniently left out the other night."  
  
Stiles nods and swallows with a parched throat. He then tells him all of the interactions he's had with Peter, even the parking garage where he offered him the bite on his wrist and accepted his answer of no. He subtly points out Peter's odd behavior towards him every time he's with him.  
  
John asks, "should I tell him to stop stalking you?"  
  
Stiles violently shakes his head. "Nah! I feel safer knowing you're protecting me inside while he stands guard outside. It's like I have the iron-clad protection of Fort Knox."

John sighs and rakes his hand over his face. "Okay. Peter's your... soul mate. He knows and has known for a while, and you just found out because of the blue glow." 

Stiles nods, and Danny smiles. "He must love you a great deal."

John sits back as he sighs. "I don't like that my son has an _**older**_ male mate."

Stiles notices the inflection is on older and not male.

John runs his hand through his hair. "I will say that I'm impressed with Peter that he hasn't made any moves towards a relationship with you yet because of your age. I _**h** **ave**_ noticed how he looks at you, and I wasn't sure if he was inappropriate, but I trust you. If he _**ever**_ hurts you, _I'm shooting him with wolfsbane._ As long as he treats you the way you deserve, I won't have a problem with him."

Stiles lets out a sigh of relief. Then he remembers something else he wanted to tell his dad. He looks down and nervously wrings his hands "by the way, dad. That wasn't the neighbor's dog growling when I mentioned my theory about Laura and Kate. Peter was across the street, and it pissed him off about Laura's betrayal, and he got a little loud. He also didn't know that Deucalion is his father or Talia is his mother and not his sister. He fell off the roof when he heard that one."

Stiles looks at Danny and his dad. Now. I just have to move on with my life. Beyond high school and being Scott's friend."  
  
John nods. "Danny? Stiles takes his exit exam tomorrow. Scott hasn't said word one to him since the encounter with the Nogitsune. Can you look out for Stiles and ensure Scott doesn't give him any problems?"  
  
Danny smiles. "Sure, Sheriff. Not a problem. Now that I know more about Scott and the problems, I'll give him a problem if he fucks with Stiles again!"  
  
John smiles. "I'd say call me Uncle John, _but with the anonymity,_ I think it would be better to call me John."  
  
Danny nods.  
  
They talk about more mundane things till John goes to work and Danny goes home.


	11. Claudia's Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in Japan specifically, the number 9 is a bad-luck number that sounds like “suffering” when spoken aloud

**SUNDAY  
** **MARCH 3rd, 2013**  
  
Stiles searches for grimoires for sale on all the auction sites that he can remember or find, online and off. He does see a couple of promising ones and makes a few bids.  
  
He then searches through the entire house for any hidden panels or anywhere his mom could conceal supplies. He finds a false section of a wall in the kitchen near the stove. After a few minutes of examining and playing with it, he gets it open and discovers dried herbs and empty bottles for potion-making.

He then researches the house. He hacks into city hall and hunts down the house blueprints, and prints them off. He whoops when he discovers that it has a basement that _neither he nor his dad knew about._ He uses the plans to locate the hidden door. _His mom cloaked it with magic._ He thinks for a few minutes. Claudia would want him to find it at some point. In his prior witch research, he read that sometimes witches cast bloodline spells so that only one of their descendants or blood relatives can open things. _It requires a little fresh blood of a blood-relative to dispel the spell._  
  
John walks in as Stiles is pondering what to do. "Son? What are you doing?"  
  
Stiles is still deep in thought when he turns and shows his dad the house blueprints. He then shows him the field shielding the door. "Hmm. I think mom wants me to find this, so I'm pretty sure that it's a bloodline spell. I should be able to dispel this with my blood to prove I'm her descendant or blood relative."  
  
John warily arches his brow. "What are you going to do? Do I want to know?"  
  
Stiles looks at him and extends a claw in his right hand. He then cut a small line down his right palm and then holds up his bloody palm to the hidden door.

There's a flash, and then the wall disappears, and they can see the door.

John says, "let me grab my flashlight, and we'll check this out."  
  
He comes back a moment later with his flashlight. As the light moves over Stiles' eyes, they don't reflect as Scott's do.

John stutters, "how? How come your eyes didn't reflect light like Scott and Derek's?"  
  
Stiles smiles. "Clear contacts. I didn't want something that basic to give me away."  
  
John smiles. "Good thinking, son."  
  


They go down the stairs.

John leads the way with his flashlight.

Stiles uses his wolf eyes to see in the dark and suddenly grabs John with a firm grip halfway down the stairs. "Look out! That step is missing."  
  
John sighs in relief. "That was close. _Too close!"_  
  
At the bottom of the stairs, John finds the light switch and turns it on.

The room is larger than the house. She enlarged this room _—a lot._  
  
They see a table with Claudia's spell books on it and her small altar surrounded by bookcases with books, crystals, and supplies.

Stiles looks at the books. "Looks like I don't have to hunt as hard as I thought for family magic books online."  
  
There are four large bookcases filled with magical books. Most of them are in Polish and handwritten. Claudia's Bestiary and a few other books are lying open, on the table. _She was reading about the Nemeton and the Nogitsune._

There is a copy of the article _**'Lorraine Martin finds the body of her mistress,'**_ and a book opened to _**'banshees.'**_ _She was researching Lydia's grandmother, the Nemeton, and Noggy. Why?_

There's a book opened to a story about _**a Darach and his servant terrorizing a village in Germany in the 1700s.**_

John turns the page and finds a woodcutting image of the Darach and his servant, and the servant looks just like Deaton. "Stiles?"  
  
He eyeballs it as John says, "show this to Alexi."

  
  
Stiles reads all of the books his mom left on the table and cross-references everything for later.

John also studies these books.

They both examine the research on Noggy, the Nemeton, and the Darach in Claudia's bestiary.  
  
John says, "Stiles! The Darach and his servant were searching for a demon they could either control or keep imprisoned. It says they practiced a spell to get around death through possession of their descendants using a bloodline spell. When they reached the age of 27 (9 9 9), they find a witch or druid to impregnate, and they cast a soul binding spell on the unborn child. They replace their child's soul when they turn nine or when their own body is dying or becomes disabled. That's how they stay alive for centuries. Through their bloodline."  
  
Stiles says, "so where is the original Darach if Deaton was the servant? Maybe I can track the family tree with Ancestry.com."

Stiles runs up the stairs and grabs his laptop, and then goes back downstairs. He sets it up and researches the family tree.

The Darach was named _Morgan Layton._  
  
It takes him an hour to find where the last descendant was killed in a hunting accident when he and _Deaton's father_ were looking for a mountain lion attacking the populace.

Stiles looks up at John. "Dad. Deaton shot him on a hunting trip about fifteen to twenty years ago. No known heirs. Deaton had a son. Vernon Boyd. That means that after the Alpha pack killed Boyd, Deaton either found someone and got them pregnant, or he's making a golem to hold his soul until he finds a suitable body."  
  
John says, "that's what made him more proactive in getting the Nogitsune to give him immortality. His replacement body died."

Stiles says, "crap! I need to get this information to Alexi. Sunset is in two hours, and Peter always shows up around then. I'll leave right after I hide the door with a glamour and a barrier that only you and I can cross. Or Danny or Alexi since they are blood relatives of ours. I don't want anyone else finding this place."

John nods, and they go upstairs.

Stiles uses Black Hawthorne to build the magickal barrier but keys it to allow blood relatives access. He puts a glamour of the wall back over the magical barrier and then heads out the door. Stiles then stealthily goes to Alexi's house.

  
_**At Alexi's** _

Stiles shows him the books, articles, and everything they uncovered about the Darach and his servant searching for a demon to attain immortality.  
  
Alexi gets a grave look on his face and goes about putting people in place to watch Deaton.

They then discuss what mates mean to werewolves and witches.

Stiles answers all of his questions about Peter.

Alexi reluctantly respects the man.  
  
On the way home Stiles realizes how late it is because he was preoccupied with talking with Alexi. His stomach growls because it's after supper time. He calls _Pizza Hut_ to deliver a couple of pizzas and makes it back home around 6:30 pm.  
  
Peter's in his usual position across the street, and he's antsy because Stiles wasn't there.

John nods across the street in question, and Stiles nods an affirmative, _he's there._  
  
The pizza arrives fifteen minutes later.

Melissa pulls up twenty minutes after that and joins them in eating Pizza.  
  
John and Stiles tell Melissa about the research they did on Deaton and his history and family tree.  
  
 _Peter mutter across the street, "that sounds vaguely like what the emperor was doing with the clones in those Star Wars comics."_

Stiles _**loves**_ Star Wars, and it pleases him, and his wolf, that Peter references their favorite movie.

Strong emotions like anger, joy, hatred, rage, love, and fear can make a wolf's eyes glow, so Stiles covertly turn away to hide glowing eyes, just in case, for a second. The contacts stop his eyes from reflecting. They do nothing to hide when they glow on their own.  
  
After a minute, Stiles asks Melissa, "how is Scott doing?"

She replies, "okay. He has a game tonight. He's a little upset that Danny won't have anything to do with him anymore because he blames Scott for the twins leaving and all his friends moving away." She takes a bite of pizza. "Evidently, Danny's pushing coach to enforce the good grade restriction on the players, but if Coach does, Scott can't play or be co-captain until he brings his grades up."

_Across the street, Peter mutters, "it's more likely that he's not happy with the way Scott treats his cousin and doesn't want him around to ruin anybody else's life."_  
  
Stiles chokes on his water, and John hits his back to help him. Stiles coughs. "I'm okay. It went down the wrong pipe. Today has been been very informative, but I need to do a little more studying for my test tomorrow, and then I'm going to sleep."  
  
Melissa says, "okay, honey. I know you don't need any luck because you're going to nail it. Please take a picture of Lydia's face when she sees that you outscore her for the Valedictorian Award for me. I might frame it."  
  
Stiles smiles, "I doubt I outscore her, but if I do, I will. Thanks, mom. Night dad. Love you." He hugs his dad and kisses mom's cheek.  
  
He goes upstairs, but instead of studying for the test, he researches spell parts to see if he can create a spell or an amulet of some kind to hide his wolf smell. It takes about an hour to figure out that a spell alone won't do it. Stiles learns that he can enchant an amulet, though. He pulls out his dad's dog tag and his mother's (Claudia's) locket. He takes two Adderall pills, grinds them to powder, and mixes it with vanilla and some of his Aspen cologne. His wolf likes that smell. He uses the paste to fill the locket and then seals it shut with a locking spell.  
  
He then uses a spell to enchant the locket to cover the smell of his wolf with the scent of the paste, which smells pretty damn good. He then puts on the pendant and vows to keep it on at all times.

Then he goes to sleep.


	12. Exams

**MONDAY  
** **MARCH 4th, 2013**  
  
Stiles gets up early and heads down to make a pot of coffee. As the pot percolates, he leans against the wall, trying to squash his panicky feeling of leaving high school and any chance of getting back together with Scott as best friends, or _**any**_ kind of friend.

His wolf snidely points out that he's not missing much. He'd _**still**_ be on his own even if Scott were still in the picture. He sighs. _Lucien's not wrong._  
  
Stiles sadly sighs as he concedes that this is the best option for him to be happy, and for his dad to be safe. It would kill him if anything happened to his dad. On that note, he looks up and forces on a fake smile as his dad walks into the kitchen.

John pours them both a cup of coffee and starts making eggs and toast.  
  
Stiles gets nauseous at the smell. "Dad, don't make me anything. I'm not hungry, and the thought of food right now... it really turns my stomach." He looks a little green in the gills.  
  
John looks at him and asks, "what's the matter, Stiles? What's got you all flustered?"  
  
Stiles shrugs. "Today's my last day of school. The last chance I have to get back with Scott. _Ugg._ Even my wolf's pointed out that even when Scott was in the picture, _I was still alone._ This way, I have a chance to be happy, and you have a higher probability of staying safe. It'd kill me if you got hurt. _I can't lose you, dad!"_  
  
John nods and hugs him. "Scott might pull his head out of his ass at some point, and just because you don't go to the same school anymore doesn't mean you can't see or talk to him. Now that I know about the supernatural, I can protect myself better. I see you're wearing my military dog tags and your mother's locket. Is there a special meaning for it?"  
  
Stiles nods. "I enchanted it with Adderall, vanilla, and my cologne. It hides my wolf scent." He blushes and adds, "It also helps me feel closer to you and my mom."  
  
John nods. "That's one way to keep your wolf secret from Scott. I understand he never seemed to pay attention to what his senses told him before. How long did it take him to figure out that Isaac is a werewolf? Most of the day or lacrosse practice and getting his nose in _**every**_ kid's face to figure it out?"  
  
Stiles scoff as he remembers that practice. "Something like that."

John hands Stiles twenty dollars and says, "if you're not going to eat breakfast, at least take this to get lunch. If nothing else, treat yourself to a meal somewhere after your test."  
  
Stiles nods in agreement.

John sits down to eat as Stiles leaves for school.  
  


  
  
_**At school** _

Stiles heads to the office and checks in for his exams.

Lydia's mom is the teacher chosen to oversee the tests. She asks, "Stiles? Are you okay?"

He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. I don't matter to anyone. I'm on my own now."  
  
Natalie frowns at that, but she still has to do her job. She herds all the students taking the exam into a classroom and hands out the booklets. After she explains the procedure, they start the test.  
  
 _They have two and a half hours to finish._

She calls the time every half hour.

She grades a stack of essays as they work.  
  
Stiles finishes in an hour while the others continue working.  
  
Natalie asks, "do you want to go over it before turning it in?"

Stiles shakes his head. "No. I'm good. I'm done with this place. Almost as done as Scott and Lydia seem to be with me. Take care of yourself. Don't let them get you hurt or killed."

She bites her lip as Stiles walks out and bumps smack into Danny in the middle of the hall.

Danny grabs his arm to steady him. "Stiles? It's lunchtime. Let's get something to eat before you blow this place. Unless you don't want anyone to see you with me?" He crosses his arms defiantly.  
  
Stiles smiles. "How could I turn down the only actual invitation for lunch I've ever gotten. Let's go."  
  
They go to the cafeteria, and Danny grabs a full tray while Stiles grabs some jerky and an apple. The thought of food still turns his stomach.  
  
At the table, Danny asks, "how do you think you did? On the test, I mean."

Stiles smiles. "I probably annihilated Lydia's score."  
  
Lydia sits down next to us and smugly says, "I doubt that. Mom says you took **_THE_** test. I take it you're leaving us?"  
  
Stiles sighs. "You can't leave a group you were never part of unless research was needed. I haven't heard from Scott since that night."  
  
Lydia bluntly asks, "have you tried talking to him?"  
  
Stiles nods. "I left numerous texts and several voicemails. We invited Melissa _**and**_ Scott over for dinner every night. He told his mom that he had a date with Kira and couldn't come. _Kira moved to Japan!_ If he didn't want anything to do with me, he could have just said no."  
  
Danny shakes his head as he says, "he never treated you right. He got worse when he met Allison and discovered sex."  
  
Lydia glares at Danny before looking at Stiles. "Scott was always a little thick, but he pulled this crap because he thought he lost you. He figured out how much he took you for granted and that you got hurt, many times, because he didn't warn you about the danger."  
  
Stiles says, "okay. So, why push me out even more than before?"  
  
Lydia says, "because instead of apologizing, he got on his white horse and thinks you're safer without him putting you in danger. I mean, in his eyes, you're _ **'the weak human** **'**_ that he failed to protect."  
  
Stiles sighs in frustration. "I wish everyone would stop reminding me that I'm not as good as everyone else and I'm the weak link." He purposely doesn't say _**'the human'**_ since he's not human anymore.  
  
Danny scoffs. "You know your not!"... He studies Stiles face. Crap! "Wait! You don't know? Now I _**do**_ want to kill him!" He looks around for Scott before saying, "it's just like him to attempt or claim nobility while insulting you at the same time."  
  
Lydia chokes on her water at that comment as Stiles hides his smile. _Danny's not wrong._

Stiles smells Scott coming and covertly looks at the door as he asks, "Lydia? Are you sure you want to talk to me since he's, you know, banned me?"  
  
Danny looks at her intently as he awaits her answer.  
  
She says, "in case you haven't noticed, there's no more pack. I can be friends with whomever I want. **_Not_** even Jackson **_tried_** to tell me **_who_** could be my **_friends_**. You have my number. Call me every few days, _**or**_ I'm calling you." She follows that statement up with a menacing glare.  
  
Stiles looks at her as Scott walks in the door. "Do you even have my number? I mean, I was the one calling everyone and getting ignored. No one ever called me, not even Scott. Wait! _Peter called me_ to let me know what stupid things the puppy was doing so I could show up and bail him out."  
  
Danny smirks. "I wonder how he got your number?"  
  
Lydia ponders, "Derek had your number. Didn't he?"  
  
Stiles nods. "I didn't think Peter and Derek shared information. Peter must have gone through his phone while he was asleep."  
  
Lydia smiles, "mystery solved."  
  
Scott gets his tray and sits with the jocks without so much as glancing at them.  
  
Stiles gets up to leave.

Danny grabs his wrist and shakes his head. "You've lost too much weight. Sit down and finish what little bit of lunch you have," he pleadingly adds, "for me."  
  
Lydia gives them a strange look. _For him?_  
  
Stiles nods and sits down. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else."

Danny smiles, "except Mama McCall."

Stiles smiles. _Danny's got him there._

After a few more minutes of talking and taking small bites so his stomach can handle it, Stiles finishes the jerky and half of the apple. "That's all I can handle."  
  
Lydia puts her hand on Stiles' arm and quietly asks, "what did Allison and Scott do to you that caused such a rift that you've never truly trusted him again?"  
  
Stiles sighs and looks over at Scott, who is pointedly ignoring him. He knows Scott's listening by his posture.

Stiles looks back at Lydia. "When Gerard first came to town, I told Scott that Gerard was the bad guy. I gathered evidence showing that he was pulling Kate's strings. It was my insurance to keep dad safe from Gerard and his lackeys." Stiles looks down at his hands as he continues. "Scott broke into my house, stole that evidence, and handed it over to Gerard."  
  
Lydia says, "he wouldn't do that."  
  
Stiles pulls out his phone and shows her a recording of Gerard offering Allison to Scott if he spies on Derek and gets Stiles' files for Gerard. He then shows her a tape of Scott going through his room and stealing the evidence. 

He shows Lydia another file of Scott handing the evidence to Gerard, who then throws them in the fire as he kisses Allison on the forehead. He shows her another record of Allison dragging Stiles into the Argent garage, unconscious, with a dart sticking out of his neck. He accidentally shows her a couple of seconds of Gerard torturing him and gloating about Scott's betrayal before he stops it. _Oops._ He shows her another file where Gerard has a gun to Stiles' head and bragging about killing him as a message to Scott about picking the wrong friends, and then he's going to kill John. Stiles stops him by telling him that Stiles is paranoid and has backups of those files and evidence.

Stiles says, "I'm not gullible like Scott. I keep copies. If anything happens to me, or my dad, that file goes to the FBI and the Mafia. I happen to have a good relationship with the Russian Mafia."

Stiles shows the file of Gerard breaking his ribs and letting him go after telling his men not to kill John, _only wing him._

Danny asks, "Scott doesn't know you have documented evidence of all the times he betrayed you, does he?"

Stiles says, "with him breaking into my house to take stuff? No! I didn't tell him. I let him call me a liar when I accused him of his betrayals."

Danny says, "and that's why we keep cameras in our houses, including our bedrooms, and why we plant cameras in the hunters' houses. Keep your friends close and your enemy closer." He looks at Stiles' phone and sees one in that file that he didn't play, so he plays it. Allison and Scott are talking to Gerard in the nursing home after he developed bite rejection. _You can tell from the black goo leaking from Gerard's face._ No one supposedly knows where Gerard is. _The camera is hidden in Allison's amulet, and the scene was recorded through the mirror on the wall._

Both Danny and Lydia says, "what the hell?"

Lydia says, "That bastard has known where Gerard is hiding all this time."

Stiles takes his phone back and says, "among other things." He looks back at Lydia. "The rift came because he said I was lying about this, and neither Scott nor Gerard would ever do that. He said Gerard wouldn't hurt a weak human. Allison wouldn't do that to an innocent kid. Neither of them ever apologized for any of this. They just expected me to pretend like it didn't happen and move on." He looks intently at Lydia. "Me, I got PTSD so bad that I had to see a shrink three times a week until I didn't think everyone was out to get me. It didn't help that I found out the shrink was on the Argent payroll. I got myself straight by writing out what I perceived compared to reality, and compared that to the possibility." Stiles notices Scott went a little pale and is sweating. His heart is elevated a little.

Either he _**didn't**_ think that was important enough to bother Stiles with, or he _**did**_ think Stiles made everything up. Or he didn't have to face reality himself, and now he knows there is proof in black and white that he's full of shit.  
  
Lydia puts her hand over her mouth and swallows a few times. "I'm sorry. I didn't know anything about that. We? Our? You both ..." She points back and forth between Danny and me.  
  
Danny smiles sardonically and shakes his head. "We're not lovers, but we're a lot closer than we let on to anyone. Just between us, we got arrested together when I was thirteen. Breaking and entering. Hacking got added to the charges later, and I took the blame to protect Stiles."  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "It's alright. I knew if everyone knew how much of a liar and self-centered bastard Scott is _**and** _that he only thinks with his dick, then _no one would trust him enough to work together_ _to stop the villains_ that threatened to destroy Beacon Hills."  
  
Danny snarls, "you shouldn't sacrifice your dignity for him or his feelings. How many times did he drop you so he could screw one of his girlfriends."  
  
Stiles sighs. "Too many times to count. Like I said, Danny. _I'm not important and never was._ I have to go. Now that I've finished high school, I have a job. I said I'd be there after I finish my test so that I can finish the hiring paperwork."

Danny grabs his arm and says, "you are important! _Everyone is!_ You're important to me. How many breakups have you let me cry on your shoulder, on your bed? You've been the best lab partner I've ever had. You listen to people. I don't think I'd have passed history or English without your overnight cram sessions. I wouldn't be where I am now without you. _Don't you ever let anyone,_ especially that... person... don't let anyone _take away your self-worth._ You are worth more than your weight in gold."

Stiles shyly smiles at him. "I'm trying cioteczny. My self-esteem took a serious hit, and I'm still recovering." (note cioteczny is cousin in Polish.)

Lydia eyes Danny with an open mouth.

Stiles one arm hugs Lydia and tells her to take care of herself before walking out of the school.  
  
He heads to little Russia and his new job.


	13. Stiles' Sanctuary

**MONDAY  
** **MARCH 4th, 2013**

Alexi walks Stiles through the new hire paperwork and then gives him a full tour of the shop. He then introduces Stiles to all of the mechanics.  
  
The werewolf (Misha) asks, "does this mean that we now have a responsible person answering the phones, and we might _**actuall** **y**_ get our messages now?"

Stiles scratches his head. "I'll pass on all of your messages to you. I take it the last girl didn't?"  
  
They all shake their head.  
  
Stiles thinks about it. "Alexi? Can I have a clipboard? I can make a check-off form for taking messages to ensure everyone gets their calls."  
  
He smiles, "of course, nephew. I always have some floating around." He leads Stiles to a shelf of office supplies.

Stiles finds ten clipboards and other things that give him an idea of making his message passing go smoother.

Alexi tells him to take what he wants.  
  
Stiles grabs the black plastic one and takes over an old document tree (like they used to keep time cards in) from the shelf, and he makes a mail slot for each of the mechanics and himself.

Stiles posts the clipboard with a notebook on it by the door to the car pits, _as it's called._ He turns to the mechanics. "I'll write in the notebook the name of whoever has a message, and then you check your bin—mark off your name when you get your message. If you are expecting a call, let me know, and I will notify you right away. I will also pass on emergency calls straight to you. When I leave every day, I'll check who didn't get their messages and tell you to check your bin."

They love the idea and give affirmatives and happy nods. They love their new desk person. They all now have a favorite baby brother.

**later that day**  
The mechanics love how the message system works.

Stiles smiles. They _ **love**_ Stiles as the new phone _**girl**_ ... err ... _**phone boy**_ ... err ... _**guy**_ , phone guy. God! _Stiles gender neutered himself_. He guesses that he does identify more with the girl's role than the male's.  
  
They all call him Wilka, like his Uncle Alexi does.  
  
Only Misha and Alexi know he's a werewolf, though.

Misha is so happy to get his messages that he bought Stiles lunch and eats with him in the break room. "Your charmed medallion hides your wolf smell perfectly."  
  
Stiles looks around shyly. He then quietly asks, "there's this werewolf following me _most nights,_ and he has this weird blue glow around him. Why does he glow? No one else seems to glow. Is something wrong with my eyes?"

Misha laughs. "The blue glow indicates a werewolf's mate. We _**can** _have a human mate, and they will still have a blue aura around them _(to us)_ just like a wolf mate does. He must have found you when you were human and is waiting until you're of legal age to approach you. His wolf still needs to ensure that you're safe and he has no competition."  
  
Stiles looks at him in shock, with jaw hanging low. "What! I suspected that's why he glows, but you mean he may have always seen me with the blue glow? He _ **always**_ knew, or could he _**recentl** **y**_ have figured it out?"

Misha says, "he would have known the first time he saw you."

Stiles thanks him profusely.  
  
Alexi walks in to check on Stiles during his lunch and laughs at Stiles' face. "I want to meet this Peter. Ensure he dates you properly before he gets you into his bed." He overheard that Peter is Stiles' mate, and has known since the first time he saw Stiles.  
  
Stiles blushes. "Of course. I'm not easy, desperate maybe, but not easy." He blushes as he says, "I guess that means I don't have to worry about being the next forty-year-old virgin if he's waiting for me to turn eighteen.

Misha smiles and shakes his head as he goes back to work.  
  
Alexi goes back to work while Stiles tackles answering the phones and scheduling things for the shop.

Stiles enjoys talking to everyone that stays at the shop while their car gets fixed. Most of the customers enjoy talking with him.  
  
Some of these conversations are _**very**_ informative. So far, he's learned:  
  
The fish are _**jumping**_ in the lake because two _**different**_ rangers stocked the fish. The first guy didn't document it, so someone else was helpful and filled the lake with baby fish as well.

  
One of the mail delivery drivers on the east side doesn't like to deliver to the house with two Rottweilers, so he throws their mail in the dumpster at the end of the block. That includes all of their packages. A few local kids watch for him and take what they want after he leaves.

One of the customers likes to check the parking garage next to the mall for cars that aren't locked and takes whatever's left in the car. Money, CDs, tablets, and whatever else he can sell. He told Stiles the name of the pawnshop where he unloads the stuff.  
  
One woman works as a call girl in the strip bar on West and Grand. The owner pimps the girls, and _the Johns_ have to pay upfront. The owner ensures _the Johns_ don't hurt the girls, and they _**have** _to wear condoms. It's a very _**clean**_ establishment.  
  
All the waitresses at the Jungle are underage and give the owner a cut of their tips for the privilege to work there.

One of the last guys Stiles talks to has a couple of rottweilers. He knows the mail carrier's dumping his mail in a dumpster at the end of the block. He also knows the kids across the street don't have money for clothes and school supplies and won't take charity. He purposely orders things for the kids so that when the mailman dumps them in the dumpster, the kids can scavenge everything. He has a PO box that he uses for his personal mail. That's why he put the bin there, and he doesn't report the mailman.

Stiles wonders if they would still tell him their dirty business if they knew his dad is the Sheriff. He valiantly keeps from laughing when his last customer of the day is _**that**_ mailman.

He tells Stiles he checked to see where that dumpster came from and discovered the **_dog guy_** owns it. He also knows the guys is paying the sanitation workers _**not**_ to dump it, and it stays unlocked. He knows the neighbor is disabled and on food stamps for his kids. He's in HUD-VASH (meaning Uncle Sam provides his housing because his service-connected injuries prevent him from working). His kids eat their only meals at the public school because he doesn't have money. The dog guy is buying stuff the kids need and ensuring he dumps those packages in that dumpster, and those kids get it when he leaves.

The mailman says, "just between us. Every year I go to the school on the first day and pay the year's lunches for those two kids. I give the school strict instructions to tell the dad that the district pays for lunch and breakfast for all the kids. During the summer when kids can eat lunch there if it's not available at home ... I pay for that as well. It's the only good meals those kids get."

Stiles congratulates him on his Sherlock detective skills. "I'm glad that two outstanding citizens like you guys are there for those kids."

Stiles loves talking to the customers in Russian, Polish, and English. The great thing is that no one ever tells Stiles to shut up. Most of them give him tips—monetary and financial suggestions. One of the guys is an accountant, and he helped him set up a money market account and a retirement account for his dad. Another is a stockbroker, and he helped Stiles open a portfolio.  
  
  
  
  
Danny comes to the shop after practice, and they magic train for an hour. He usually comes right after school, unless he has lacrosse.  
  
As Stiles leaves, Danny asks, "do you still game? Or play Dungeons and Dragons?"

Stiles sighs. "I haven't played in a while because of Scott. I think... I want to get back into it. Do you still DM or Dungeon Master the group you had over summer break?"  
  
Danny smiles. "Yeah. We still play D&D on Thursdays and Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) on Tuesdays. Want to join us? I'd love to have you."

Stiles nods with a smile. "It might be fun to do teenage things without worrying about who is going to kill me next."

Danny says, "come over tomorrow, after work, and we'll level up your character from a few years ago, and I'll introduce you to the group online as we kick ass on ESO. We'll run you through the gamut and catch you up to us."  
  
Stiles smiles happily and says, "you're on! I'll be there. Should I bring drinks or snacks or anything?"  
  
Danny says, "sodas and juice would be great! I'll get chips and nuts. We take turns on the popcorn and cookies."  
  
  


**after work**  
Instead of driving home, Stiles checks out Malia's old cave in the woods.

Malia's scent is faint. She doesn't live in the cave anymore. The area still doesn't look like a place he wants to run because there are too many human scents, including Argent's. Chris Argent.

Stiles checks the areas that have traces of human and metal. It smells like Argent has been here quite recently.

He gets in his jeep and thinks about where he could go running in his wolf form that's safe for the next full moon.  
  
 _The zoo!_ The abandoned zoo in the forest. It's overgrown and hidden. _Most locals don't even know that it's there._ It closed down sixty to seventy years ago.  
  
He parks off the road, behind a sign and some big trees, so no one sees his Jeep. He shifts to a wolf and then runs the two miles to the zoo.

_**At the zoo** _

He searches around and locates the service tunnels. He thoroughly explores and discovers a panic room still stocked with stuff from the fifties, and the original camera system is functional. He sorts through everything in the panic room to get rid of what's spoiled and makes a note to replace it. He taps into the power grid running through the sewers and powers up the cameras.

Most of the cameras still function, but they're from the fifties and sixties. He has to switch those cameras out, slowly. He can get _Quelima SQ11 Mini Camera 1080P HD DVR_ for about twelve dollars each on Amazon.

He makes a game of running through the zoo, marking a number that matches up to the camera monitors. He writes a corresponding number in the center of each area, so he knows the camera zones. He then texts his dad that he's checking something and will be home later. He shifts to wolf form and breaths in the scents of the old zoo.

He and Lucien run all over the zoo, sniffing for any strangers or intruders. _It's as if he sees the world with his nose._ They love running uninterrupted in the outdoors and fresh air. There are no nut trees here, meaning no squirrels. They find three field mice and kill them. They leave the mangled mice corpses next to their holes as a warning to keep out other mice.  
  
Stiles needed this chance to run off the stress and be a pure wolf, with no responsibilities or anyone depending on him, for a little while. After an hour or so, they shift back to human. He needs to leave some spare clothes here for emergencies. He closes and locks all the doors that he unlocked, so no one realizes he's been here. He then shifts back to the wolf and runs back to his Jeep. He climbs in and drives home.


	14. Pizza and Wings

**MONDAY  
** **MARCH 4th, 2013**  
  
The sun dips below the horizon before Stiles gets halfway home. He pulls over to check his phone when he gets a text.

It's his dad asking where he is and when he'll be home.

He breathes a sigh of relief that his dad's safe. He always subconsciously holds his breath when he gets a text as he waits to see if this is _the message_ telling him that his dad was hurt or killed in the line of duty. _He supposes every cop's kid goes through that fear as they grow up._

Stiles texts back, "I checked old zoo. It's perfect. I hacked into the city's power grid for power to activate the camera system. That's all the power I'm borrowing. I don't want to attract attention." He adds another text. "Luckily, I can see in the dark, and I don't want to draw attention from hunters in the area. I'm halfway home—order pizza & wings for delivery to the house. I'll be there when they arrive. If I need to talk about my K-9, Lucien, I'll say it's a coworker's big dog I agreed to walk and exercise for my exercise and stress management."

It takes several texts to send his message, and he huffs in annoyance. Stiles says to himself, "160 characters is not enough to have a proper conversation. This is bloody ridiculous! I wish it didn't kill me to use bloody code texting like the rest of the teens I used to run with."

His dad texts back, "got it."

As he nears the house, he can see the blue glow from an agitated Peter pacing behind the house across the street. It looks like he got more than _a little anxious that Stiles wasn't home yet_. He gets out of his blue jeep as the _Pizza Hut_ guy pulls up with the pizzas and wings.

John walks out and pays for the food, and tips the guy for his prompt delivery. 

Stiles grabs the pizzas, and they then walk inside together.  
  
They sit down to eat, and dad asks, "how did the job go?"  
  
Stiles smiles as he eats a slice of pizza with one hand and a hot wing with the other. "I love it! Alexi says I draw in more business than any of his goons. That's his words, not mine." He swallows his food and sips his drink. "No one tells me to shut up. I talk to customers the entire time they wait for their cars, in English, Polish, or Russian. I didn't realize how much I missed that, not until I could do it again. All the mechanics call me Wilka, like Alexi does, and they love me being there."

John smiles. "I'm glad you have people around you that _**appreciate**_ you. You _**deserve**_ to be appreciated."

Stiles smiles and sips some of his coke. "I can't tell you how great it feels. Apparently, the last girl never gave the guys their messages. I set up a system that lets them know they had a call and to check for messages. One of the mechanics is a born werewolf. He was so happy to get his messages that he bought me lunch."

_Peter mutters, "an Omega?" He growls subvocally. "He better not think of wooing my mate? I'm the **only one** that can provide for him."_

_Stiles hears and thinks, "uh oh. He's jealous."_

Stiles pulls out a notebook and writes down, "Peter sounds jealous that I work with an Omega," then he adds, "that bought me food."

Dad helpfully adds, "the guy you mentioned the other day? Misha?"

Stiles nods. "I'm picking his brains about the differences between born wolves and bitten wolves. He says both can have a human mate. When they find their mate. He says their mates have an amazingly attractive scent and a blue glow around them that _**only they**_ can see. Mates don't have age limits."  
  
Dad asks, "age limits? Like someone can be underage _**or**_ thirty years older?"  
  
Stiles shrugs. "I suppose both. Misha says _**mates are rare.**_ All werewolves hope to find theirs someday, but not all of them wait for it. Some move on by the time they become an adult."

John asks, "does that mean they can miss their chance to be with their mate?"

Stiles nods. "Misha found his mate when he was twenty-five, but he already had a wife and child, so he didn't say anything to her about mates or werewolves. She _**was**_ interested, but he doesn't cheat, and he was married, so she moved on with her life. Misha's wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver a year ago."

John asks, "so he can marry his mate now?"

Stiles shakes his head. "She is currently married to another man."  
  
Dad takes a sip of his beer with a rueful shake of his head. "How are they perfect mates? It sounds like he's miserable. The poor guy."  
  
Stiles nod as he hears _Peter mutter, "the poor bastard. He better not think about sinking his hooks into my mate!"_ He writes, "Peter's still jealous but feels sorry for Misha." Stiles smirks at his dad and says, "Misha **_has_** been depressed since he met her and couldn't have her because he already had a wife. It just so happens that she is unhappily married and caught her husband cheating with another _**man!**_ _"_

John says, "Damn! It's bad enough when it's a woman, but with a man? Damn!"

Stiles says, "She's in the process of divorcing the guy. I think Misha can't wait for the first chance to scoop her up and let her cry on his shoulder. He intends on trying out for a second shot at her. I mean, _she is his mate,_ and it seems that fate always tries to give you your mate. You have to be ready to take the chance when it comes. If you're a born werewolf, that is."

Stiles writes in the notebook. "I promised Alexi and Misha that I'd date Peter before I let him bed me."  
  
John chokes on his beer and then takes the pencil and writes, "you better! He better ask me if he can date my son as well."  
  
Stiles nods. "Dad? If I ever have someone ask me out, are you going to pull the _'cleaning your gun routine'_ at the table when they ask you if they can date me?"  
  
John laughs and says, "probably. You are my favorite son."  
  
Stiles laughs. "I'm your _**only**_ son."  
  
John laughs and says, "don't you forget it!"  
  


They eat in silence for a few minutes before his dad asks, "Stiles? I've meant to ask you something."  
  
Stiles looks at him over the top of his cup. "Yeah? Dad?"  
  
He blushes and asks, "does Melissa know that you're ... that you like ... um ..."  
  
Stiles chuckles. "That I'm _**gay?** _Yeah, dad. A couple of years ago, Heather asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance, and I asked Melissa how I could let Heather down since she didn't catch on when I told her I prefer a stick shift to an automatic or that she has the wrong equipment to interest me."  
  
John makes the guppy face. "But, you went to that dance, _with Heather!"_  
  
Stiles smiles as he remembers. "Yeah, _as friends,_ dad. Melissa said to quit using figurative speech and just come out and tell her that I'm gay. I did. She laughed. She laughed with me and not at me. She wanted to make her boyfriend jealous because he wasn't giving her any attention. He had discovered sports and spent more time playing than dating. She already figured out I'm gay. I'm pretty sure Lydia knows as well. I _**know**_ Danny does because we've double dated once or twice."  
  
Dad says, "wait! What? You've dated a guy?"  
  
Stiles smirks as he hears _Peter say, "what? Who?"_ Stiles writes, "there goes Peter's jealousy again. I wish you could hear his running commentary."  
  
Stiles nods. "Remember when Danny, Thomas, Newton, and I went bowling last year? That was a double date. _It didn't go well._ To tell you the truth, Danny and I left _**them**_ at the diner when we found them making out, with each _**other,**_ in the bathroom. Newt called Danny an hour later when they finally realized we left."  
  


Dad says, "that's embarrassing. Your date was kissing his date in the bathroom. I take it Danny got over it pretty quick."  
  
Stiles laughs. "Not even close. He got Jackson to flatten him on the lacrosse field the next day."  
  


Stiles finishes his pizza slice. "I checked out Malia's cave. She hasn't been there in a while, but hunters have. I think there might be traps out there. Can you have the deputies sweep the area with metal detectors?"  
  
John nods and says, "yeah. I'll have them check it out tomorrow. Isn't it dangerous going out there alone?"  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "GPS didn't become standard in vehicles until the **_90s_**. My Jeep is from **_1986_**. I parked a bit away so as not to attract attention. I turned **_off_** the GPS on my phone when I found out Argent was a hunter. I was **_relatively_** safe. Besides, I brought my coworker's dog with me. _I agreed to exercise Lucien for the guy._ He needed a run." He writes in the notebook, "I shifted to a wolf and back in the cave so I could use the super senses of my wolf to smell the area without anyone seeing me."

John says, "you do look more relaxed. I take it the run helped you burn off some stress."

Stiles says, "yeah. I didn't realize how stressed I was until I was running." Stiles writes in the notebook, "I shifted at the zoo and let myself run the whole place. It's very calming and relaxing just to let myself go and not worry about hunters trying to kill me."

They talk about mundane things for a little while before Stiles asks, "Dad? I have a question about Parrish. Can he detect if someone is supernatural?" He writes, "Would he notice I'm not as human as I appear?"  
  
Dad shakes his head. "No. He had no clue Meredith was a banshee until _**you**_ told him. You picked up something about her before anyone else did. I'm not sure if it's because you're observant or because your magic lets you know. Like you suspected Scott was a werewolf within hours of Peter biting him."  
  
Stiles sighs in relief and nods. "He felt off. Then he told me his senses magnified after the bite. That's why I told him the full moon was coming up, and he might want to stay in that night, _not like he ever listened to me."_  
  
John asks, "did you tell Alexi about Deaton?"  
  
Stiles finishes his chicken wing. "He was shocked to find out Deaton is a Darach from the seventeen hundreds and trying to find a demon to give him immortality. The only reason Deaton actively went after Noggy is Boyd was his son, and he intended to take over his body on his eighteenth birthday. He no longer has an heir to possess and is desperate."  
  
Dad asks, "what about Morrel? _**IS**_ she his sister or what?  
  
Stiles says, "Alexi checked it out. He thinks that she's the other Darach working with Deaton for the last few centuries. She has an heir waiting to possess. The county placed her daughter in a foster home, and she's about fourteen now. _What I thought_ was Deaton killing the Darach he served was more than likely t _hem killing off the discarded body_ after she took over the body of her heir."  
  
Dad says, "so she has four years before she switches bodies. What's to prevent Deaton from getting some innocent girl pregnant, at random."  
  
Stiles sighs. "You mean rape someone. The spell loophole says rape makes the child immune to possession. He could go bar hopping for someone drunk enough to get into bed with him, though."  
  
John adds, "but with the morning after pills and birth control these days; it's no guarantee that she gets pregnant. _What do you mean the spell loophole?"_  
  
Stiles smile. "Every spell _**has**_ to have a way out. A way to break the spell."  
  
Dad asks, "like love's first kiss or the stroke of midnight?"  
  
Stiles nods. "Noggy tasted freedom. I don't think it'll take much to make a deal. They will try to double-cross each other, and they both know it. _I'm worried it'll come after me._ I've got half of its power. It's going to want that magic back, but due to the changes I've gone through, he can't. At least, _not while I'm alive._ It has to kill me to get it back."  
  
 _Peter growls, "I'm not going to let them hurt my mate!"_

Stiles writes, "Peter says he won't let anyone hurt me, his mate."

John nods and says, "I'm going to protect you like I should've done all along."  
  
Stiles smiles weakly. "Thanks. I appreciate that. On a nicer note, Danny and I talked about socializing. He runs a Dungeon and Dragons game as well as plays an online game. He asked me to join in. It's been a while since I've done anything _I enjoy_ or played just to play. I said yes. Thursdays, I'll spend a few hours at his place, and Tuesdays, I can play online from the living room."  
  
John says, "that sounds good, son. You deserve to relax with friends. What about Lydia and Scott?"

Stiles shrugs. "I showed Lydia the video evidence and pictures I have of Scott betraying me. Everything he denied doing. Danny noticed the one I didn't play in that file and played a part of it. It was of Allison and Scott talking to Gerard, post-bite rejection, in a medical facility. Neither Lydia nor Danny knew that Scott's known Gerard's location for a while."

Stiles hears a growl across the street. Peter snarls, _"That bastard!"_ Stiles writes, "that little nugget made Peter mad."

John laughs when Stiles tells him about the three different guys that knew different parts of what was going on with the mail, dogs, and the garbage bin.


	15. Lydia is a Good Friend

**THURSDAY  
** **MARCH 7th, 2013**  
  
Stiles enjoys updating his D &D character. He forgot that his character became a werewolf two years ago, before Scott was bitten by one also. It is an odd coincidence that he had researched werewolves so heavily for his character and then used that same research for Scott.

He gets home from Danny's at about 9:30 and immediately sees the blue glow from Peter hiding in the tree outside his bedroom window as he parks Roscoe in the driveway. He freezes in the doorway as he smells Lydia's perfume. _Ralph Lauren's Glamourous Daylight._ He nervously calls out, "Dad? Are you okay?"  
  
John comes into the living room from the kitchen, with Lydia following close behind.

She looks annoyed with Stiles, but it _doesn't look like she hates him_ for Allison's death.

Stiles tries for a friendly tone as he greets her. "Hey, Lydia. What's up?"  
  
She regally sits on the couch. "I _**told**_ you to call me within a few days, _**or**_ I was going to come see you. _You haven't called,_ so I'm here to see that you're okay. Have you tried to talk to Scott, or _are you going to try?_ When are you going to cut the cord with him?"

Stiles balks. "Straight to the point, I see." Stiles walks over and flops in his old recliner. "Yes, My Lady. I've left _ **numerous**_ texts and voice mails. You can be my witness for the _ **last**_ one I'll ever send him."

John clenches his fists because he doesn't like how Scott has hurt his son. He _**is**_ impressed that Lydia noticed and is here to check on Stiles and show him some support.

Stiles pulls out his phone and calls Scott.

As usual, Scott ignores Stiles' call, and it goes to voice mail.

At the beep, Stiles says, "Hey, Scott. I get the hint. You always hinted _I wasn't part of your pack because I wasn't like you_. This is my last message. Take care of yourself, buddy. We were friends even though I should've walked away a long time ago." He sighs sadly. "Now we're strangers. I have to warn you, if you break into my house again or threaten my dad _or me_ in any way, we'll be enemies. I've moved on, so I doubt I'll see you again. ** _Bye Scott._** I wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but I can't. Not anymore. I'm going to say, _'take care of Melissa,'_ instead. She deserves better treatment than that." He hangs up the phone.  
  
 _Peter mutters, "it's about time. That's more than the spoiled baby deserves."_

Stiles bites his lip at that comment. He grabs the notebook and writes, " _ **HE**_ says, 'about time.'" and shows it to his dad.

John nods, closes the notebook, and puts it back on the counter.

Stiles tosses his phone on the side table in disgust and sighs. _"Moving forward._ I bet you twenty dollars that if anything supernatural happens, Scott immediately calls me up and says, _'pack meeting'_." Stiles scoffs at himself as he leans his head back in the chair in disgust and annoyance. He scoffs and picks up his head. _"He then tells me_... or should I say _**orders me**_ to research something for him, or breaks into our house and searches my room. Again."  
  
John says, "I'm not taking that bet because I see him doing just that. Promise me you won't let him rope you into his politics!"  
  
Stiles nods. "Promise. Right now, nothing would make me happier than closing the door on him as he did to me."  
  
Lydia says, "I can't burn my bridges yet. I have to play nice while going to school with him. There is no pack, so I don't have to worry about pack meeting, and I'll close, no, slam that door on him if he tries." She leans forward. "Now. How is life treating you, Stiles?"  
  


Stiles smiles and gets a little more comfortable in his chair. "I'm fine. Never better. _I love my job._ I'm learning magic with my Uncle and cousin. I just came home from a dungeons and dragons game that Danny is running. Life's less stressful when I'm _**not**_ hanging out with Scott and constantly running for my life."  
  
Lydia smiles like the cat that ate the canary as she purrs, "really? I **_love_** tabletop. I play the 5th edition myself. I have a half-elven druidess. Do you think Danny will let me join in your game?"  
  
Stiles smiles. "We do need a magic-user and a tank. He'll probably let you. He's always liked you and your mind. Ask him at school tomorrow. Um? Lydia? I have two questions for you about Scott."  
  
She scoffs. _"Only two?"_

Stiles nods. "Yeah. Only two. My first question is, did you tell Scott what happened in the tunnels?"

She shakes her head. "No. He didn't ask or care about what we went through in those damned tunnels!"

Stiles smiles. "Question two. Are you... hmm." He thinks of an excellent way to phrase this. "Does Scott's pack consist of you and him?"

Lydia frowns and looks angry. _"Hell to the no!_ Not after I got dumped in Eichen House, and he didn't believe you when you said I was being abused and hurt. He said _it's an institution, and I must be getting the treatment I needed_. I haven't trusted his simplistic narrow vision since I found out he betrayed you and Derek to Gerard and then Deucalion. It's like he has blinders on when it comes to Deaton and his suggestions."

Stiles nods. "Scott _**is**_ Deaton's marionette."

John says, "I don't know what happened to that boy. He used to be a good kid."  
  
She ruefully says, "Scott has recently said a few... _unflattering things,_ about Stiles. Like, he's not surprised that Stiles dropped out of school because he always gives up on things and people or he trusts the wrong people."

Stiles scoffs. "I'm not the one that decided to trust Deaton, Gerard, Jennifer, Deucalion, Matt, Theo... you get the idea. Oh, wait! It must be because I trust Peter and Derek."

She smiles at Stiles. "Exactly. Scott's the one that betrays everyone because he trusts the villains after you identify them. That idiot makes the mistake of saying those things around Danny, and it enrages him." She leans forward with her need to know the answer to her question. "Why does Danny feel the need to defend your reputation? You said he's not your boyfriend, but he takes some serious offense to the things Scott says about you. I answered your questions. Now, answer mine."

Dad says, "that brat is asking for an ass-kicking."  
  
Stiles nods at his dad. He looks at Lydia. "Danny's my cousin. He's a witch like me. I'm learning magic with him and his dad, my boss, Alexi Koldunski."  
  
Lydia's mouth drops in shock. "Wait. Koldunski? As in the Russian Mafia Don. That Alexi Koldunski?"

Dad asks, "how do you know that?"

She looks at John and shrugs. "Dad's an unethical lawyer and has worked with him on several occasions."

Stiles nods. "That's the one."  
  
She says, "oh, wow! No wonder Danny never lets me meet his family. I still want to play D & D. Playing with the one guy that's as smart as I am is a bonus."

_Peter says, "Stiles is far smarter than that prissy princess."_

Stiles smiles that both of them agree on his intelligence. The combined compliments make him blush. He pulls out his phone and texts Danny.  
  
Danny texts him back almost immediately. He almost doesn't know how to respond to that. 

Stiles reads the text and then looks up. "Danny says he'd love to have you, and you can come in as my half-sister." He thinks a minute as to how and when to fix her character. He looks up at her. "We can set up your character tomorrow. Come to the auto shop next Thursday for an oil change, and then you can follow me over to Danny's house to meet the guys for the game."  
  
She happily smiles before giving him a petulant look. "I'll be there. Do you know that you took my place as Valedictorian? I had to do extra credits in most of my classes to get my spot back."  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "I didn't know that. Your GPA must have gone down a little when you were in the hospital and missing for those two days. That and running around after Scott doesn't help it any either."

Lydia nods sadly, straightens her skirt, and daintily takes a sip of her diet cola. "Scott and I _**haven't**_ talked much since you showed me the video evidence of him betraying you to Gerard. He overheard most of what you showed me with his werewolf hearing. Scott knows I won't buy his innocent act anymore, _so he's not trying."_ She sighs and gives him a pouty face. "I should have tried harder to get some information from Allison before she died. The problem with her was she acted as if she denied everything she did, meaning that she either didn't do it or she wasn't responsible for it."

She crosses her leg and puts her hand on her knee as she thinks. "Scott always said Deucalion had Melissa prisoner, and that's why Scott listened to Deucalion. I wanted to see if she verified his story, so I asked her when Deucalion kidnapped her. She said Deucalion never kidnaped her. She went so far as to say Deucalion sent her out of the hospital to Scott when The Darach attacked the hospital so that she would stay safe. _**That**_ _was when Jennifer kidnapped her."_

She sighs and shakes her head and looks intently at Stiles. "I went back and talked with Melissa again. Melissa says that Jennifer forced you and Derek to attack Deucalion to get Argent, Melissa, and the Sheriff, from her, alive. Derek was with Jennifer and stalling while Stiles and Allison raced to the Nemeton to save everyone. Derek got her to heal Deucalion so that it would weaken her." 

Stiles sighs. "Yeah. Enough talk about the past. I want to put that as far behind me as possible. Dad? Did you eat yet?"  
  
He shakes his head.

Stiles nods, "so, I can call Pizza Hut, or we can eat at Denny's. What do we want to do?"  
  
Lydia bounces in her chair and says, "Denny's! I'm buying."  
  
John sips his beer. "I can't turn that down. Let's go!

They get in Lydia's car.

Stiles sits in the back seat and covertly watches through the rearview mirror and the side mirror. He verifies to himself that a blue glow is following them to Denny's, _at a safe distance,_ of course. On foot?


	16. Dinner at Denny's

**Thursday  
** **March 7th, 2013  
** **Denny's**

Lydia, John, and Stiles arrive at Denny's.

They follow the hostess to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

_As is the Stilinski habit, John and Stiles put their phones on vibrate and set them in a stack on the table to show their undivided attention to each other._

Lydia joins in because she thinks it's a good idea.

The hostess, _Linda,_ brings them a round of water and informs them the waitress will be with them in a moment. Linda's the same hostess from the other night. She pats Stiles' hand in a motherly way and must remember about Stiles' sensitive stomach.

Stiles wonders if she thinks he's recovering from cancer.  
  
Lucien perks up as they spot a blow glow, casually walk in the front door and wait for the hostess to seat him somewhere.  
  
Stiles covertly studies Peter as the hostess greets him.

John watches Stiles watching Peter and shakes his head.   
  
Lydia notices Stiles eyeing Peter and gives him a calculating look before very loudly and obviously flagging Peter down, _from across the restaurant._

Stiles tries to shush her. _He feels as though he turns a glowing pink from head to toe as he blushes._

Peter tries to ignore her for a minute, but when it becomes apparent that she's going to alert the entire building that she wants his attention, he finally looks at her and plasters on a grin.

Lydia beams and gestures for Peter to join them at their table. "Over here. We're waiting patiently for you to join us?"

Stiles coughs. "Waiting patiently? Compared to what?"

Peter comes as close to a shit-eating grin as ever and walks towards them. _Maybe it's more of a shark smelling blood in the water kind of grin._  
  
God! Stiles' wolf smells how happy Peter is to be included and is thrilled and excited making him jittery as hell. He silently pleads, _"Lucien! Down boy! We're still underage. We have to wait! Calm down!"_  
  


  
Stiles looks at Lydia. "I thought you two didn't get along very well? What's up?"  
  
She giggles. "We get along fine. I trust him more than Scott. Besides, he's always checking you out when you're not paying attention. You were clearly checking him out. I have got to poke my finger into that."  
  
Stiles blushes and sits back as Lydia points Peter to the chair next to her. This sits Peter directly across from Stiles. _Great._ That's sarcasm, by the way.

Stiles eyes narrow as he wonders if the two of them planned this. Stiles' wolf is bouncing with excitement, making him bounce his leg at a fast pace.  
  


John says, "Peter," in greeting. He takes a sip of his water. "It's been a while. I hope you've been staying out of trouble."

Stiles mutters, "dad? Can you not be a cop during dinner?"

John gives him the _"I'm the dad"_ look. Maybe it's the _"I'm the adult_ " look? Both looks are similar.

Peter nods at them and smiles sweetly. "No trouble, Sheriff. I've been a good boy."  
  
Lydia snickers. "I don't want to know what your dates say about that."  
  
He glares at her, and dad chokes on his water.  
  
Styles blushes. "I don't see Peter being submissive for anyone. Man or woman."  
  
Peter nods. "I'm glad _**someone**_ knows me."  
  


The waitress (Tammy) comes by with menus. It's one of the ones that eyed Stiles kid's meal the other day. "Oh. How are you doing, honey? Do you think your stomach can handle a full meal yet, or do you still need the kid's menu?"  
  
Stiles shyly looks down as he nervously rubs his tummy. "I think I better stick to the kid's menu. Sorry." He gives her a sad look.  
  
Tammy hands John, Lyds, and Peter regular menus and Stiles a kids menu. It looks like she feels sorry for Stiles.

He looks at his dad after she walks away to check on another patron. "I think she thinks I have cancer."

John grimaces, "maybe it's not cancer, but the same aftereffects. Have you been able to gain any of the weight back, son?"  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "The good news is I haven't lost any additional weight since..." He lowers his head and nervously looks at the menu.  
  
Peter says, "I know how hard it can be to go from eating close to nothing to convincing your body that a full meal is normal and acceptable. I was still eating mush for a month after I woke up from my coma."  
  
Stiles gives him a weak but grateful smile.  
  
They order, and Stiles gets the kid's french toast meal.

They talk as they eat.

Stiles is bouncing and jittery the entire time.

Lydia finally asks, "take a little too much Adderall today, Stiles?"  
  
Stiles gives her a sheepish grin and then grimaces. "I'll work it off later when I give Lucien a run."  
  
She looks at Stiles oddly as Peter mutters, "Lucien?"  
  
John nods. "Stiles exercises a colossal brown canine that belongs to one of the workers at the car shop. It's a unique color of brown. He's a magnificent specimen of a canine. I wouldn't mind having him on the K-9 team." He didn't lie and his heart didn't blip. Lucien's a canine, and Stiles works at the shop, so Stiles' wolf qualifies as all of that.  
  
When Stiles hides his smile at the compliment John adds, "Lucien loves Stiles, especially when Stiles brings him out for a run. It helps calm both of them when they run together."  
  
Stiles slowly eats half his toast, sausage, eggs, and banana slices before asking, "so Peter? What have you been up to lately? Have you and Lydia joined up with Scott to keep **_his clique_** going?"  
  
Peter snorts with a disgusted look on his face.

Lyds says, "hell no!"

Peter says, "not bloody likely!" He growls, "that pup has always been on my _**last**_ nerve. Everything that ungrateful _**brat**_ has that means anything, besides his mom, is because of the ... _ **gift**_ ... _ **I**_ gave him, and _**then**_ he complains that that very _ **gift**_ is ruining his life ** _._** His _ **new life**_ , his multiple girlfriends, asthma-free lungs, and his sports prowess is because of what _ **I** _gave him." He sits back and huffs. "The biggest mistake I ever made, and I've made my fair share in my life."  
  
Stiles wolf is happy that Scott's not in the big picture.  
  
John looks at Stiles pushing his food around aimlessly. "I'm starting to see that Scott's a bit narcissistic."  
  
Stiles snorts. "I got tired of the double standards. He kept me on the fringes because I _**wasn't**_ a were... like him. He claims that he wants to be human, like me. Then he acts as though being human isn't good enough. He exasperates me."  
  
Peter arches a brow and asks, "wasn't?" He would notice how Stiles worded that. _Crap!_

Stiles looks up in surprise and sighs. "You know what I meant." He pushes the eggs around on his plate a little harder than he meant to, making a slight scraping noise before putting his fork down. "After Noggy, I can't think of myself as an innocent human anymore."  
  
Dad grabs his hand. "I can see you're not going to eat the other half of your meal. Stiles, look at me."  
  
He looks at John. "You are **_not_** a demon or responsible for what _ **he**_ did. You're _**innocent**_ of his actions. I told you at the station. You were experiencing Stockholm Syndrome. You liked the feeling _he had_ of being in control because you didn't have any."  
  
Stiles sighs deeply and nods. "I'm getting there, dad. I am. But right now, I still can't fully believe all of that. I do remember that we weren't connected when... Allison, so I had nothing to do with her death. I know I didn't kill anyone. Maimed and hurt maybe, but I didn't kill."

Lyds sits back with a daintily arched brow. "I didn't know that was still bothering you."  
  
Stiles nods. "The nightmares are manageable now. I'm getting better. I'm not there yet. I still can't eat a full meal either." He pushes his plate away in disgust and whispers, "sometimes I wish you had let me go. Sometimes I'm okay with myself, and sometimes I'm not." Stiles sighs sadly and leans heavily against his dad, resting his head on his shoulder.  
  
Lyds whispers, "you're a strong survivor like me. Don't let him win by dying on us now. We all need you, whether we say it or not."  
  
Dad squeezes Stiles shoulder. "Lydia told you that I'd go crazy if I lost you. Don't prove the point. Okay, son?"  
  
Peter quietly says, "I know it's a big responsibility to be someone's anchor. But Stiles, you anchor quite a few people to their humanity. I'm sure Malia will eventually realize she wants to be human because she misses you holding her together. You make me saner than I think I ever was before. Lydia needs you as a rival to prove how intelligent she is. You push her to better herself."  
  
Lyds nods in agreement.  
  
Stiles sighs. "Sometimes I'm just soo tired." He grabs John's shoulder as he leans heavily into him for a minute before sitting up, slumping down a little, and drinking some water.  
  
Tammys comes by and asks, "do you need a to-go box, honey?"  
  
Stiles looks at it and can't make up his mind. "Um..."  
  
Dad says, "why not? It can't hurt. Maybe I can persuade him to eat in the morning."  
  


As John's boxing it up, Melissa and Scott walk into the restaurant.

Stiles frown and mutters, "speak of the devil."  
  
Melissa drags Scott over to our table and says, "Hi, guys."

  
Scott sulks and says, "Mom. I just remembered I'm supposed to meet Danny and the guys for practice for the game Saturday." He bolts out of the restaurant.  
  
Stiles scoffs. 

Lyds snidely says, "Danny won't have anything to do with Scott after the constant putdowns he's been spouting about Stiles dropping out of school."  
  
Peter growls.  
  
John says, "Stiles tested out high enough to make Valedictorian. How could he put Stiles down over that?"  
  
Stiles bites his tongue and looks at John to hide flashing gold eyes.  
  
Melissa says, "what? Did he say that? How could he do that to his best friend."

Stiles mutters, "he hasn't wanted me as a best friend, not since _**before**_ Allison moved here."

Dad says, "Mel, I respect you and care for you a great deal, but you need to keep Scott away from me because I'm close to losing it on him."  
  
Lyds says, "that's the nicest thing Scott's said about Stiles. He's said a lot worse. Danny got detention for punching him yesterday."

Everyone looks at Lydia in shock.

John asks, "Danny? Sweet and nice Danny?"

Lydia daintily takes a sip of her water. "Danny's got a _**petition**_ signed by most of the kids, and even some of the faculty, to force the Coach to follow the rules that prevent kids with _**failing**_ grades from playing on the team. Scott is _**failing**_ most of his classes. He's more than likely going to be held back a year."  
  
Melissa asks, "Danny? Sweet Danny, punched Scott? I need to have a serious sit-down with Scott. I'll sit up and wait for him to get home so I can hash this out."  
  
Stiles says, "he's a master of believing the lies he spews."  
  
Lyds looks at the cell phones. "Stiles? You should show her the footage on your phone of the shit Scott did to you."  
  
Peter looks at Stiles. "You have hard evidence he fucked you over?"  
  
Lydia grabs Stiles' phone, among sputtered protests. When she finds the files he showed her at school; Stiles excuses himself and bolts for the bathroom.

He doesn't want Melissa _**OR**_ his dad to see that. He doesn't want them to see how weak he is.  
  
 _Thankfully this is one of those bathrooms with only one stall and a lock on the door._

Stiles locks the door and sinks onto the floor in the corner as the panic attack he was trying to hold off takes over.


	17. Panic on the Denny's Floor

**Thursday  
** **March 7th, 2013**

Lydia finds the files she saw on Stiles' phone the other day. She angrily and maliciously opens every single file so that she can show Peter, John, and Melissa, just how self-centered, conniving, and two-faced Scott has been to her friend. _Did she call Stiles **her friend?** _ She slows down as she reasons things out in her head.

She _**did!**_ Stiles _ **is**_ her friend! If she thinks about it, he's _**always**_ been there for her and _**never**_ asked for anything in return, _not even a thank you._ She stops as she realizes that _she_ _**was**_ just as self-centered as Scott. She didn't even know it, _until now._ Lydia wonders if Scott realizes how self-centered he is. It hurts to realize that she never thanked Stiles for all the years he was there for her, _even when she thought his name was Steve._ Letting her read his class notes or writing her essays without charging her like he does the other people he earns an income from. She can't write an essay to save her life. Her grades would be so much lower if she wrote her own essays. _She will fix that!_ She's _**going**_ to thank Stiles and be the best friend **_he's ever had._** She knows that's a low bar when she thinks about Scott, but she knows she can be a better friend than Scott ever thought he was. She's going to show Stiles _how much she appreciates him and his self-sacrifice._  
  
Allison was the only other person Lydia could classify as her friend. Lydia knows Ally was protective and a good friend **_to her,_** but she was a bit off her rocker towards the others. Lyds realizes that everyone else wanted something from her and rode her coat-tails to be in the in-crowd or get good grades. But never Stiles. He didn't care if he was in the shadows. He was just there. He never complained or asked for anything.  
  
Stiles never told Lydia, or anyone else, what Ally did to make him so standoffish from her.

Lydia wonders if it's on this phone. _Somewhere._ She continues opening and viewing the files on the phone.

Peter points to other folders next to the original files with odd names.

She opens them. It's more evidence of Scott's duplicity with Deucalion and Allison and Gerard hurting the pack. There are a few photos and voice recordings from the basement of the Hale house of Kate and her goons beating and torturing Derek while Kate stands there, gloating, leering, and purring about how she had sex with him as a teenager.

Melissa grows pale as she's shocked at how many times her son betrayed Stiles. Melissa gets angry that _her son is just like his father, and she never saw the signs._ She feels like such a bad mother right now. She doesn't want someone like that living in her house. She'll call Rafe in the morning and give him the custody of Scott that he's been demanding. She realizes that Rafael's right. Scott needs a father figure to give him some guidance and discipline.

  


John sees Melissa's creeping depression and how shocked she looks. "It's not your fault, Melissa. Scott deceived everyone."

Peter maliciously says, "everyone _**but**_ Stiles." _He quietly thinks, "and me."_

John tells Lyds to look in the video file section. They locate an unusually long video file.

Peter reads, "...edited two hours? What kind of video would you have on your phone that's _ **five**_ hours long and edited down to two? He's OCD enough to have the original untouched one still there also."

Melissa says, _"OCD is a coping mechanism for PTSD._ I should have realized something was wrong, no, not wrong, bothering, _something was bothering him._ I should have asked him."

John says, "that explains the comment Rafe made about Stiles not responding the way he should have when someone held a gun to his head. I didn't want to listen to Rafe because we don't get along too well. I wanted to believe that due to him constantly reminded me of my brief drinking problem after Claudia died. Now that I think about it, he hasn't mentioned it for a few years."

Lydia pushes play. They recognize the location.

Peter says, "that's in the Argent basement."

Lyds says, "Wait! Is that Erica and Boyd hanging there?"

Peter says, "yes. Electrified chains to prevent shifting. Why does Stiles have this? We already knew that Gerard kidnapped them."

The next few seconds show Allison proudly sauntering down the stairs with a stun rifle propped against her shoulder, followed by Gerard.

Behind him is a guy dragging an unconscious Stiles. He _**isn't**_ gentle as he drags Stiles down the stairs, thumping his head on every step.

Allison picks up one of two buckets of water and throws the water on Stiles.

Stiles wakes up, sputters, and looks around in confusion. He immediately spots Erica and Boyd.

Allison says, "Sleeping beauty's awake, grandpa. _**You**_ can have _ **fun**_ with him while you're getting information about _ **Scott's**_ pack. I have homework to finish, but first." She turns and faces the two wolves. "These wolves _**are**_ in _**his**_ pack. _**All**_ his pack _**needs**_ to _**suffer.** _They took mom away from us."

Allison grabs the second bucket and throws the water on Erica and Boyd. She laughs as they scream and writhe in pain from the ensuing electroshock.

Stiles shouts, "Leave them alone! _**They**_ aren't hurting you! They're _**innocent**_ kids! Their eyes are _**gold**_. You're just as psycho as _**he**_ is!" He gestures towards Gerard with his chin.

Gerard punches Stiles in the face, splitting his lip. "You'll keep quiet unless providing information about the wolf pack and Scott.

Lyds, Peter, Melissa, and John see that Gerard doesn't like anyone referring to him as a psycho as he punches Stiles in the face, splitting his lip.

Lydia says, "Stiles is right. She was off her rocker."

They watch a little more of the video to see what Allison and Gerard do.

The guy that dragged in Stiles jabs him in the side with a cattle prod, hard enough to crack his rib. Allison says, "He's not psycho. He has a cause."

Stiles growls out. "Sorry. Fanatic, which is worse."

Gerard slaps his face causing abrasions to the bruised cheek from his ring.

The guy shocks Stiles again, but for a longer time.

Stiles falls in a heap from the shock and tries to catch his breath as they chain him to the wall.

When it becomes apparent that they're about to torture him a lot worse, Peter grabs the phone and stops the recording. He looks at John. "I'm not going to watch them torture him for hours." He looks towards the bathroom as he tries to register what he's hearing.

John asks, "what is it? Do you hear something odd?"

Peter only half turns towards him as he continues facing the bathrooms because he's not sure what he's hearing. He knows _his wolf doesn't like that sound,_ _and it's whining in a near panic._ "I... I'm not sure. My wolf's panicking." He turns to face John. "It sounds like... like something's squeaking... I don't know. I've never heard a squeak that sounds like that, and _it feels wrong."_

Melissa rapidly sits up straight in alarm as John stands up in a near panic. _**"Is**_ his heart beating fast... way too fast?"

Peter closes his eyes as he tries to hear Stiles' heartbeat and then opens his eyes quickly as he focuses on John, "Yes. Yes, it is. What's wrong? What don't I know?"

John runs to the bathroom as Melissa gets out of the booth as she hurriedly says, "Stiles is having a panic attack. After Scott turned, they became more serious. He now has them so badly that he passes out." She then follows John in a focused panic.

When Peter and Lydia get to the door, John calls Stiles' name and tries to force the door open. They hear a heavy thud, and they all worriedly look at each other.

Before anyone can react, Peter moves John away from the door. "I'll apologize to them later." He raises his knee to get more power and kicks the door in half with a well-placed boot.

Peter looks around as John and Melissa rush into the bathroom to an unconscious Stiles lying on the dingy tile floor.

John rolls Stiles on his side into the recovery position and lifts his head higher than his heart.

Melissa lays her head on Stiles' chest and listens to his heart and lungs. "His heartbeat is slowing down, but it's still over 120 beats a minute. Now that he's unconscious, he's able to breathe again."

Lydia dampens some paper towels and mops Stiles' brow. "He's clammy, but he's running hot at the same time."

John looks intently at her. "When he was losing... control... to the... to Noggy, he was always cold because it was sharing his lifeforce. Now that he's free of it, he runs warm. He thinks it's because of the magick he took from Noggy. This is his new norm."

The manager runs up to see what the commotion is and notices Stiles unconscious on the floor through the smashed and splintered bathroom door. He quickly moves from more than a little upset to acting as a concerned parent.

Peter thinks it's more about the possibility of getting sued than one of his customers is unconscious on the dingy floor.

Melissa says, "sorry. We were concerned about Stiles when he didn't come back to the table."

It appears the manager is concerned because his daughter has seizures, and he understands how a parent worries about their child. He would do the same thing to get to his baby even though she's a young adult.

Peter pulls out his cash and starts counting off the bills as he begins negotiations to fix the door and calm the nice man down.

 _Tammy_ walks by carrying a serving tray stacked high with dirty dishes and spots the chaos and pales as she notices Stiles on the floor. There is a loud clatter as she drops the tray, and the dishes hit the floor in her haste to rush over and see if she can help.

John nods in acknowledgment of her concern. "He'll be a bit embarrassed when he wakes up. Is there a back door we can use to avoid eyes?"

She says, "of course. I understand." She shows them to the back door and then goes upfront to keep people away so they can get him out.

Melissa rummages in her purse and pulls out a smelling salt packet. She started carrying them after Lydia was researching panic attacks and figured out Lydia saw Stiles pass out from an attack at school. She snaps the packet and waves it under Stiles' nose.

Stiles jerks back from it, takes a deep raspy breath, and opens his eyes. It takes a minute for him to register what's going on and where he is. He's not used to seeing concerned faces around him.

  


Melissa breathes a sigh of relief as does Lydia.

Lydia says, "I better get home. Peter? Can you give them a ride home?"

He nods, only paying half attention to her. His focus is on Stiles.

Lyds nods with a small smile. She turns to the group on the floor. "Stiles? Don't forget about helping me set up a character to play. _You better take care of yourself!_ I don't like you having panic attacks like this." She hoped that with Scott out of the picture that this wouldn't happen anymore.

Stiles nods. He stutters out, "Trust me.... I don't... like them... either."

Melissa says, "now that you're stable and awake, I have to head home and have a _**serious talk**_ with Scott about his actions _and his future._ Stiles, baby? Get some rest. I know how badly one of those attacks weakens you. I'll stop by Saturday for breakfast. I'm bringing the stuff for breakfast burritos."

Stiles nods and is helped into a sitting position by his dad and Peter as he gets woozy and holds his head as he tries not to fall back into a prone position.

John stands up and gets ready to help up Stiles, but Peter scoops up Stiles in one deft motion.

Stiles lets out a little _meep_ and wraps his arms around Peter's neck. Stiles hides his face in Peter's shoulder as he blushes furiously. _He hates feeling this weak and helpless._

Peter smiles smoothly at John as he secretly holds Stiles tighter to his chest than is necessary. He about purrs when Stiles snuggles into his shoulder and chest.

Lydia pays for the meal and goes out the front with a sweep of her hair as everyone else goes out the back. As she nears her car she quietly says, "Peter, make sure he rests. He needs rest after passing out from lack of oxygen." She's aware that his wolf lets him hear her and that no one else can.

Peter nods to show he heard. 

Everyone separates to go to their different vehicles.

Somehow, Peter winds up in his own car's back seat after handing John the keys to drive Peter's car to the Stilinski home. _The Stilinskis rode there in Lydia's car._

 _Stiles wonders where Peter hides his car while he's stalking the Stilinski house._ Peter must have gone back for it after he discerned where they were eating supper so that it wouldn't look suspicious.

  



	18. Post Panic Attack

**THURSDAY  
** **MARCH 7th, 2013  
in Peter's car  
**

****

  
Stiles tries to calm himself after his panic attack.

_They all saw it, or the aftermath of it._

His mind runs in an endless loop. _Now they all know that he's damaged._

His wolf whines in his mind to snap him out of it.

Stiles looks inside himself to Lucien, his wolf. He worriedly asks if anyone saw anything from him that might show that he's not human. 

Lucien shakes his head vigorously. _Lucien stayed hidden._

Stiles breathes a sigh of relief. He knows _ **they**_ can't see _**we**_ are a werewolf, and the amulet prevents them from smelling it. Stiles scratches behind Lucien's ears, and he thanks his wolf with a hug. Stiles holds his head in apparent pain from the lack of oxygen and possibly hitting his head on the floor.  
  
Peter covertly strokes his fingers through Stiles' hair as he leeches Stiles' pain. Peter's not sure if it's to calm himself, Stiles, or _his wolf_ (Eclipse). _Peter vaguely remembers Derek having panic attacks when he was a teenager._   
  
Stiles sighs in relief as the pain eases, and he leans into Peter's hand. He looks up at his dad through the rearview mirror when he's vaguely aware that John asked him what happened, more than once.

Peter smells Stiles' embarrassment and shame. _And worry?_ Why is he worried?

Stiles rubs his forehead as he tries to think clearly. "Sorry, dad. I'm still a little groggy. I had _**another**_ panic attack. I _**tried**_ to hold it off. I _**tried**_ to fight it back." He slumps in his seat. He mutters, "I'm _**never**_ strong enough." Stiles closes his eyes in disgust with himself as he leans his head against the cool window. "I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean to cause more trouble. I tried to hide it until I got control. I failed. I didn't gain control." He knows Peter and Lucien don't like him getting this depressed, but...  
  
Stiles sadly sighs as he cradles his head in his hands as he's overwhelmed that now Melissa and dad know he still has panic attacks, and the attacks are still severe enough to pass out. Shit! _**Did**_ she see how _**weak**_ he was/is and how much bullshit he took because he was _**too**_ stupid to walk away from Scott and the idea of his friendship? He sighs as he chides himself for clinging to that friendship, _if you want to call it that,_ to Scott for so long. He was a weak fool!  
  
Peter must smell how depressed Stiles is getting because Peter squeezes his shoulder. "Nothing is your fault, Stiles. You shouldn't _**ever**_ have to sacrifice your dignity and safety for _**anyone**_ else. A friend would never ask that of you, let alone demand it."

Stiles gets the feeling that Peter's not referring to his panic attack.

He looks at Peter questioningly.   
  
Peter gives a small nod to indicate Stiles is right in his assumption. "Don't worry about it, Stiles."

John turns Stiles around and squeezes his arm. "I wasn't aware you still had panic attacks or that they were that bad."  
  
Stiles sighs. "There's no real cure for it, dad. I did have a few mild ones here and there, but after Allison and Scott hooked up ..." He shrugs helplessly.  
  
Peter says, "or was it when Scott started having sex and being friends with you was no longer a priority?"

John asks, "how long?"

Stiles blushes. "I've been having them since mom died. They weren't that bad, though, not until just before Christmas. That's when Jackson pointed out that not even Scott wants to be around me anymore. It did get _a lot_ worse after Scott met Allison." The tiredness and depression worsen as he thinks about it, and he sags down in his seat. "I'm pretty pathetic."

John tries to get Stiles mind off of Scott and Allison. "It's a good thing Melissa had smelling salts."

Stiles leans back and looks up as he says, "Crap! Those are the same ones..." Stiles shakes his head and mutters, "Lydia must have gotten the smelling salt she keeps in her locker and book bag from Melissa." He snorts. "She must have researched it after I passed out on her and asked Mel how to stop it or control it. That explains how she helped me stop several of them at school after that." He rubs his eyes with exhaustion.

Peter growls and leans forward. He keeps the anger out of his voice that Stiles so readily smells rolling off of the man. With a tone of conviction and a voice thick with ... fondness? Peter says, "It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault. You aren't to blame. Stiles! You are the most loyal, resourceful, and strongest young man that I have ever met. You took on a monster Alpha ... what was it you called him... _Voltron Wolf,_ with a bat. You are so brave and fierce. You outclass and fight Scott, and he's a werewolf. I admit he's the weakest werewolf that I ever met, but werewolves, even _fail wolves_ like him, should be as strong as a human, and you, my friend, are stronger than many werewolves that I know. Do not sell yourself short."

Stiles freezes in shock. Did Peter call him a man? He smiles when his mind catches that he called Scott a... "fail wolf? I like that name for him."

John nods. "Peter's right. It's not your fault. You need to tell me when you're feeling panicked like that. We'll help you and protect you. What caused your attack tonight, son?" John pulls into their drive, and a tear escapes down Stiles' cheek as he hides his face so no one can see. His dad glares at Peter, and Stiles looks down in embarrassment and shame.  
  
Stiles rakes his hand through his hair nervously. "I hid the attacks in the bathroom at school, or coach's office, or even the bathroom at Derek's loft."

John wonders how werewolves have panic attacks, and Stiles knows him well enough to realize where his thoughts are taking him.

Stiles snorts in derision as he thinks about Erica's epilepsy.

John looks at Peter. "Thanks for your help."

Peter shrugs. "Derek passed out from several panic attacks as a teenager. I learned a few things about calming him down after one, but Talia never let me near him when he was having one, so I didn't recognize what it was at first. I'm sorry about that."

John looks at Peter in surprise. "I didn't think werewolves could have panic attacks."

Stiles snorts. "Panic attacks aren't a disease. I _t's the inability to deal with stress or panic,_ and your body makes you face that you are panicked by getting your attention, _one way or another."_

Peter nods. "A lot of werewolves have panic attacks when they go through puberty because they not only have puberty to deal with, but they suddenly have their wolf instincts waking up and making themselves known."  
  
Stiles leans back in his seat and looks into John's eyes through the rearview mirror. "Erica thought lycanthropy would cure her seizures. She still had them, even as a werewolf. They were nowhere as bad, but they were still there. She had one after we fought the Kanima. I think that's what scared her the most. That she wasn't as cured as she thought. Lycanthropy isn't the cure-all that she thought."

Peter says, "that's true. There are deaf and blind werewolves out there. We aren't infallible. _We aren't gods_. We _**can**_ get hurt bad enough to have _**scars.**_ Look at Deucalion."  
  
They get out of the car, and Stiles wobbles for a second from the dizziness.  
  
Peter quickly catches him, stabilizing him, so he doesn't fall. He keeps his hand wrapped around Stiles' waist as they approach the front door so Stiles can lean on him.  
  
Stiles nervously bites his lip as he looks at John. "Tell me ... tell me you ... you and Melissa didn't look... look at all of the ... all the things ... on my phone."  
  
Peter lets Stiles against him and the wall while John unlocks the door. "When we saw that the five-hour video was Gerard torturing you, we turned it off after a few seconds. That's not something any of us want to see. We did look at _**everything**_ else, though."  
  
Dad grumbles, "it was very enlightening about a certain damned lying self-centered brat! I think he's about to meet the wrath of Melissa."  
  
Stiles breathes a sigh of relief that they didn't see what Gerard did to him but looks down in shame that they saw what he put up with without standing up for himself. He fights back the tears for a minute as John puts his hand on the doorknob.

John knows Stiles needs to say something and doesn't want anyone to see how weak he is after an attack. Even werewolves are vulnerable after passing out from lack of oxygen.  
  
When Stiles can talk with a semi-steady voice, he says, "Gerard... that was why I _**always**_ wore long sleeves and _**never**_ took my shirt off where anyone could see the scars."  
  
His dad says, "Lydia was a little surprised that Allison was that far off her rocker. Now she understands why you wouldn't let Allison get close to you and why you never trusted her about anything."  
  
Stiles snorts, "every time she got her feelings hurt, she tried to kill the pack... _and me."_  
  
He looks at Peter as he figures out how to send him away _**and**_ let him know it's just for the night. _**Not**_ forever. _He doesn't want to hurt Peter's feelings_. "Thanks for helping me home, Peter. Dad can help me up to bed so I can get some sleep. I'm beyond dead tired. It's not that I don't want to see you again, but I don't like people seeing how weak I get after an attack."

Dad holds his hand out to Peter and says, "thanks for the help. I think I've got it now."  
  
Peter nods, turns, and walks away.  
  
Stiles leans on his dad and hobbles in the house.

John asks, "so lycanthropy isn't the super-heal-all that everyone toted it to be?"  
  
Stiles shakes his head. "It gives you better senses, more strength, and faster reflexes. It heals most physical ailments, minus lost limbs. Now mental illnesses, congenital neural or mental illness _**do**_ get noticeably better, but no, it doesn't cure."  
  
John nods. "That's good to know. Let's get you upstairs." He helps Stiles up the stairs and sits him on the end of the bed. He then removes Stiles' shoes. He starts the shower and gets it warm for Stiles as Stiles listens to Peter take up his position on their roof.

He looks up and listens as Peter gets comfortable.  
  
John nods out the window and mouths, "Peter?"  
  
Stiles points up and mouths, "on the roof."  
  
John nods. "Need any help showering or getting into the shower?"  
  
Stiles smiles. "I have a lot of experience of taking a shower like this. It used to take me nearly half an hour to climb the stairs after an attack. I won't fall or get hurt. I merely have to take my time. I feel like I'm moving through a lake of molasses or cement. I'll be fine by breakfast."  
  
John asks, "is there something between you and Peter? He's not the type of person to dote on someone like that unless they mean something to him. When he looked after Cora and Derek, he publicly decreed that he didn't care about them, and he always pointed out that he didn't care or help them because it embarrassed him. It didn't seem to embarrass him that he showed a little softness to carry you out of the restaurant."  
  
Stiles looks at John as he thinks about it. "I hate to say that I'm probably closer to him ... I mean, I feel closer to him and trust him more ... than anyone in Scott's pack, even before anyone died or left. I mean, like I told Melissa, I would trust, correction, _I have trusted him_ with my life. I guess you could say that both of us sat on the edges or the fringes of Scott's pack without ever actually being a part of Scott's pack."

Stiles thinks for a minute. "I think Peter didn't show he cared about the others because they treated him like a pariah that they still needed. They didn't treat him like he had any feelings, so they found it odd if he showed anything besides sarcasm and disdain for them."

Stiles closes the curtains with telekinesis and removes his shirt, painstakingly slow. "I mean Peter's intelligent, witty, intuitive, and crafty. He can also be charming and nice and kind. Maybe I'm the only one who sees that because I know he's still a person and treat him like one. They never gave him a chance to redeem himself, and _he did redeem himself,_ many times over."

Stiles looks at John. "There's not a secret relationship between us, if that's what you're asking. When I turn eighteen, and if he could find a spastic teenager like me of interest, yeah, I'd be interested in having some sort of a relationship with him, even if it's just as friends. But..."

John says, "you're seventeen. All bets are off until your birthday. From what I saw from him towards you tonight _and in the past,_ he would have my blessings to date you. I know he will treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

_Peter mutters, "I'm **definitely** interested, and that's good to know."_

Stiles says, "great. Can you help me get to my feet? Gravity is a little stronger than I remember."

John rushes to help Stiles. "Sure, son. Anything you need." He helps Stiles up and stays close by if Stiles needs any help showering or getting in bed before heading down to watch TV. 

John has his phone sitting next to him on the couch as he waits for the call he expects from Melissa to check in on Stiles.

Stiles was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The poor kid.


	19. Lydia Follows Through

**THURSDAY  
** **MARCH 7th, 2013**

Stiles looks at John and realizes he's letting Peter know that he has a chance with Stiles and that Stiles trusts, cares for, and respects the man.  
  
John rushes to help Stiles. "Sure, son. Anything you need." He helps him up and stays close by in case Stiles needs any help showering or getting in bed. He then heads down to watch TV while awaiting the call from Melissa to check in on Stiles.

He made a habit of watching the news for animal attacks when the supernatural first came to town. He may not have known what it was, but he knew enough to search for the attacks.

**11 pm**

Stiles hears John's phone go off, and his ears perk up when his dad answers it before the first ring ends.

It's Melissa. "Scott confirmed everything that was on Stiles phone and everything Lydia said about Scott. That includes sweet Danny punching him for the things he said about Stiles at school."

John asks, "okay. He confirmed everything. I know he's your son, Mel, but I don't want him around me, Stiles, or our house. He's worn out his welcome."

Melissa sighs. "I'm at the airport. I dropped him off a few minutes ago. I was going to toss his ass on a plane and send him to his father to live. I was going off on him about mistreating Stiles and consorting with the bastard that tortured Stiles when Rafe and his partner stepped out from behind the coffee cart. They were going back game after a job in LA and decided to see if I changed my mind about custody of Scott. They had the papers on the off chance that I changed my mind. They just arrived in Beacon Hills."

She sighs. "Rafe left his partner at the coffee stand paying while he led Scott and me out of earshot to talk. Scott was in such a hurry to get out of Beacon Hills that he only packed a carry-on. _He did ask me to mail his PlayStation out to him._ That proved how self-centered he became."

_Peter mutters, "good riddance." He then snorts as he adds, "good to see that his Playstation is the brat's main priority."_

John asks, "does Rafe know about Scott?"

Melissa slowly says, "he investigated Stiles after the Deadpool because Stiles never showed any symptoms of the contagion or whatever it was that affected everyone else in that school and the fact that he didn't act like a normal teenager when the Chemist held a gun to Stiles' head and did the countdown to kill him. If Rafe hadn't shown up when he did, that man would have killed Stiles."

_Peter growls. He wasn't aware of how close Stiles came to dying to protect Scott and the others._

She takes a deep breath to collect herself. "I pushed Rafe and Scott step in the culdesac of a bathroom and had Scott show him what a werewolf looks like and then I explained that Scott expected Stiles to perform no matter how hurt or sick he was. I'm sure Stiles was sick from that contagion, but he forced himself to continue functioning because that's what he had to do to keep the others alive."

She snorts. "Rafe slapped the back of Scott's head and asked him what the hell is wrong with him for treating his best friend like a damn slave that has no feeling. It's like he thought Stiles was his personal Igor. Rafe said he straightened himself out and earned a degree in psychology. When he's not in the field he works in the counseling office. Now that Rafe knows about werewolves and such, he's offering to be there for Stiles to talk to because how many therapists know about the supernatural."

John takes a deep breath. "Okay. I will relay the offer, but after what Rafe did to Stiles as a kid, I don't know if he can trust the man. _**I**_ don't trust him and he's my little brother."

_Stiles starts fully awake when he hears Peter stumble from that shocker._

Stiles thinks that if he's going to trust anyone enough to talk with them about what his hangups are it would be Alexi, Danny, or maybe Peter. The problem with telling Peter is he's a vindictive bastard and he might go on a cleaning spree. Maybe he should talk with Alexi. He'll talk with him about that idea. It can't hurt to get it out. Wait! _What if he talks about it with his dad?_ It could give them a chance to bond and repair their relationship.

Melissa sighs. "I signed over Scott to Raphe and walked away. I told him to send someone for anything Scott needs because I don't want him in my house. I'll change the locks tomorrow."

Stiles tunes them out when they turn the subject to sweet-talking.

**2 am**

Stiles is dozing when his phone rings with the [unstoppable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeBPBL6WtVE) ringtone. He looks at the clock and groans. Why would Lydia call him this late at night? Oh yeah! Gran taught them both not to let the sun go up without checking on sick or injured people you care about. Gramps died in his sleep and she didn't notice until she went to wake him the next morning.

He cautiously answers the call, "Hey, Lyds. What's up?"

  
Stiles hears the smile in her voice when she says, "hopefully you. How are you doing, _Miss Hathaway?"_

_Peter laughs at the reference. "Oh, that's perfect. I'll always think of Scott as Drysdale now."  
_

Stiles laughs at The Beverly Hillbillies reference. That would make Scott the idiotic and control freak Mr. Drysdale who never realizes that the quiet and serious Miss Hathaway that no one notices in the background always knows everything has everything under control. He snorts. "Tired, but better."

She hmms. "I haven't seen you pass out from an attack in a couple of weeks. I know how weak you always are afterward. Do you need anything? Any hot chocolate or anything? I know you always drink hot chocolate to calm your nerves after an attack and help with the pain. I mean it's _one thing the wolves in Scott's pack never picked up on._ They always smell when one of us takes pain pills and meds but never notice your herbal remedies for pain."  
  
 _Peter mutters, "a couple of weeks? That's how long Noggy had control of Stiles. How did she know about his attacks, and I didn't? Wait! That's why Stiles drinks soo much hot chocolate? It's to loosen his muscles after a panic attack and help with pain! Has he found other ways that we can't smell to deal with pain? Why hide it?"_  
  
Stiles nervously laughs. "I think you should leave the rambling to me. I'm better now, thanks for asking. I'll be up and able to pass myself off as perfectly fine by tomorrow, as always. Hot chocolate sounds wonderful, but please don't say anything about my episode to Danny or my Uncle. They don't know I still have panic attacks. Both are rather protective after Noggy."  
  
She laughs. "No problem. I won't say anything. Speaking of not telling people about things, _**when** are you going to ask Peter out?"_  
  
Stiles chokes on his spit. "Lyds! I don't think he'd be interested in a dumb, spastic, klutzy teenager that can't keep it together. I mean have you seen him? _He's way out of my league!_ The most handsome god Hermes would never ask out the hunchback of Notre Dam."

  
_Peter mutters, "I have got to do something about his low self-esteem. If I'm Hermes, then he's more of an... Aries. That means I have an excellent shot with him. I merely have to come up with a plausible scenario to move in on him."_

  
She sounds like the little girl that has a secret when she tauntingly says. "I wouldn't bet on that. Didn't you notice he was checking you out just as much as you check him out? Did you happen to notice that he scooped you up and carried you out the door before your dad could do it?"  
  
 _Peter mutters, "I'd have carried him even if John was built like Schwarzenegger. He's my mate! I want to protect him and keep him safe."_  
  
Stiles chuckles, "that's because werewolves are stronger than humans. Dad could probably pick me up, with as light as I am right now, but it's easier for Peter to carry me."  
  
Lyds snorts, "I don't think that's the reason why, and you know it."  
  
Stiles snorts. "Nothing makes you feel as manly as _a big handsome guy carrying you out of a restaurant while you're the maiden in distress._ I don't think I'll ever live that down."  
  
She laughs. "I wish I had thought to take a picture. That would have made fantastic blackmail."  
  
Stiles snorts. "I'm the weakest. Scott must have told him to look after me." Always trying to give Scott a little credit because he can't accept that anyone would willingly want to help or protect him.  
  
Lyds snorts and angrily says, "Scott never said anything about protecting you. He rarely even thought of you unless he needed research or a plan. As far as Peter goes..."  
  
Stiles hears her getting comfortable on her bed before she finishes that thought. "Come on, Stiles! You're the only reason that Peter helped Scott's pack. He always stayed in the shadows, watching the fight, _**until**_ the villain moved in your direction. I'm weaker than you, and he never went out of his way to protect me."  
  
 _Peter mutters, "that's because she's my competition. Why would I want to protect the one person that could take away my mate?"_  
  
Stiles balks at that. Wait! Is that why Peter's wary of Lydia? _Is he jealous... of her?_ Stiles did not know that. Stiles thinks for a minute. He wants Peter to know she's not Peter's rival. He loudly scoffs. "I think he may be more interested in you."  
  
 _Peter snarkily mutters, "as if."_  
  
She laughs. "You _**know**_ I prefer women. Big, strong, buff women. That's why I dated Jax. It hid that he's gay, and I'm into women. Peter's more your type than mine."  
  
Stiles chuckles.  
  
 _Peter stutter. "She's a lesbian?"_  
  
Stiles chuckles. "Remind me _**not**_ to let you spend time with Melissa. I have the _**distinct**_ feeling that both of you would set me up with _ **him**_ or someone else. _**Is**_ there anything, besides my nonexistent love life, that you wanted to talk about?"  
  
She decides to act like this is a regular shallow conversation and move on. She haughtily says, "as a matter of fact. We need a tanky character for our D&D game. Where can we find one?"

 _Peter smiles evilly._ At least Stiles can picture him smiling evilly when they just handed him a way into their circle. _Peter thoughtfully says, "That's my way to get closer. D &D."_  
  
Stiles ponders for a moment. "Danny and I are checking tanky guys on ESO, sorry _Elder Scrolls Online,_ in the local area and see if they want to play. Danny thinks that's the best way to find a suitable candidate. We play every Tuesday and have our computer systems set up to show everyone's ISP address. I tend to wander around and farm or help newbies with the more rogueish quests, and he likes to get involved with the guild wars. He's always calling me in to help fight off the reds from our blue base."  
  
She says, "Okay. That narrows us down to gamers in the local area. It gives us a bigger pool to find our fish in, so that's a plus. Let me know if you get any bites."  
  
Stiles smiles at her analogy. "Okay, Ariel. Will do. It's getting rather late. You have school tomorrow, and I have work, not to mention that I'm dead tired. Talk to you later."  
  
She laughs, "only you would remember gram's pet name for me. Yeah, I do. I do want to get there a little early tomorrow. I want to see if any life-changing events are happening to people in school. (AKA Scott). I'll bring you a big special order of hot chocolate from _Bikini Bean._ They have the best coffees."

Stiles wonders how she's going to take the fact that Scott moved in with his dad in Florida. Stiles laughs at the _Bikini Bean._ "You mean barely dressed women. Are they still doing Theme Day?"  
  
She says, "oh yeah! I forgot about those. Tomorrow is... _'top-less'_ day. There's this blonde bodybuilder that I hope is working tomorrow."

  
Stiles laughs. "I doubt you forgot. Are you killing two birds with one stone? Let me guess. You're going to go up there and say, _'I'm getting this for a sick friend'_ which pulls on the sympathy card, and then ask for the blonde's phone number when she looks impressed at how great of a friend you are?"  
  
Lydia laughs and says, "I wasn't, but I am now. Thanks for the idea. See you tomorrow, Stiles."  
  
Stiles laughs as he hangs up and snuggles deeper into his bed.


	20. Nightmares

**FRIDAY  
** **MARCH 8th, 2013  
(4 am-ish)**

Stiles wakes up in the early morning, screaming and thrashing from a nightmare.

It takes him a moment to realize Melissa is holding him and trying to calm him down.

He panics when he sees her in his dad's shirt, but no dad. Is he still dreaming? Is he being possessed again? Is Noggy back? God! _Don't let it be back!_ Not yet! They aren't ready for it!  
  
He looks around for his dad as he keeps muttering, "no ... no ... not again ... I can't do it again ... no ... please no!" He's not even aware that Melissa is trying to shush him, and he's getting close to another panic attack. He breathes a sigh of relief when he spots his dad at the door in his undershorts. He finally starts to relax enough to feel Melissa holding him, stroking his hair, and shushing him. "Shhh ..., Stiles ... you're safe ... it's okay ... it's just a regular nightmare. You're not alone. We're right here with you. Calm down, baby."

Stiles clutches her arm tighter around his chest and gulps in deep breathes as he calms down. He didn't even think to use his werewolf senses to find his dad, _or Peter (on the roof),_ having his own near panic attack that Stiles is that far out of it. Stiles nervously looks at John. "I... I had a nightmare and thought I was still dreaming _and that it was back!_ This isn't another dream that's going to turn into a hellish nightmare, right? I don't think I can take that again. Not right now. I haven't fully recovered from the last time."  
  
Melissa shushes him. "No, baby. I was having a sleepover with your dad when we heard your screams. Your dad's standing at the door because I got here first. I just had to slip on his shirt, and he had to find some pants."  
  
Stiles blushes as he realizes what that means. "Sleepover? I get the idea this isn't the first time. Don't get me wrong. _I'm glad you two got together._ You both deserve to be happy. I don't see how you kept that a secret with a werewolf in your house."

_Peter mutters, "I wonder how long that relationship has been in the works, and no one had a clue."_

She smiles. "Scott isn't the most observant person in the world."

Stiles smiles at his dad's image with Melissa in the room next to Scott, and Scott never notices. Stiles relaxes into Melissa's hug. He looks up at Melissa. "I'm sorry. I guess I stressed over you seeing how weak and idiotic I've been and that you're disappointed with me. It triggered some of my nightmares of me not being good enough or fast enough or smart enough to save everyone... or anyone at all. I'm of no use to anyone."  
  
She shushes him. "I'd never see you as weak or idiotic. You and Peter came up with the plans that kept us alive. Now I understand how self-centered Scott is, and I'm ashamed that I never noticed. I talked with him, and he decided it's better for him and everyone else if he lives with his dad. He's already flown out with Rafe."  
  
Stiles looks up at her in shock. "Wait! Scott decided to live with his dad? With Rafe? Does Rafe know about..."  
  
She nods. "Rafe knows. I made Scott show him. Rafe has gotten his act together after I kicked him out. Scott wants a new start somewhere no one knows who or what he is, and he can be just another face in the crowd. I think that'll be less stressful for him. Rafe offered to let you talk to him since he has a degree in psychology."

Stiles mutters. "Um. No. I don't want the man in touching distance of me. Not after I lived with the two of you." Stiles runs his hand through his hair. He takes a deep breath and mutters, "I never saw that coming."  
  
_Peter mutters, "the idiot," He snickers as he corrects to, "Drysdale can go back to the sidelines where he belongs. He can even forget about his lycanthropy and play human all he wants. He could use his wolf skills to be a little better than he was. He's got the best of both worlds."_  
  
John asks, "are you going to go back to sleep, son, or stay up?"  
  
Stiles looks at him and then at Melissa. "I think that now that I know mom's not disappointed with me, I can go back to sleep without any more nightmares. I'm still a little tired after my panic attack earlier." Stiles lays back down, and Melissa tucks him in. He looks at Melissa and says, "thanks, mom," and falls asleep in seconds.

  
  
  
**6 am**

Stiles wakes up and listens to the house.  
  
_Peter's left for the day._  
  
Mom and dad are both sleeping soundly.

 _Lucien's happy that they're together, and Scott's moved away from Beacon Hills._ To be honest, so is Stiles.  
  
He uses his wolf speed and silentness to get downstairs without waking them and starts making breakfast: scrambled eggs, French toast, and Bratwurst sausage.  
  
When it's nearly finished, he starts the coffee because he knows the smell of fresh coffee will wake everyone up. When the coffee smell wafts through the house, a fully dressed Melissa and dad meander down and grab mugs of coffee.  
  
John makes a happy, surprised face. "This is a delicious coffee! What is it? I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it."  
  
  
  
Stiles happily smiles as he sips his coffee. "Peter always drinks gourmet coffee, so I thought I'd try a few. This coffee is a little more expensive than Folgers, but I think it's worth it. Hawaiian Isles Kona Blend Coffee, Vanilla Macadamia. I Googled the best coffees, and I'm going down the list. It's better to make a pot at home than to go to Starbucks for just one cup. I'm saving money this way."

Melissa says, "this _**is**_ a delicious coffee."  
  
They eat and talk and laugh.

Stiles is surprised to discover Melissa and John have been having sleepovers for the last _eight months_. He thought they were merely having coffee and discussing Scott and himself being stupid and trying to save everyone. He never realized they were having an affair ... umm ... a relationship.  
  
Stiles starts washing the dishes when Melissa shoos him out of the way so she can do them. "In my book, if you cook, you don't wash."  
  
Stiles shrugs, hugs his dad, and kisses her on the cheek as he heads to work.

John grabs Stiles' shoulder outside the door and whispers, "I'll meet you at the back gate of your new lair an hour after you get off work. I want to see your setup and ensure it's safe for you."  
  
Stiles nods. "Okay, dad. I'll see you then."  
  


  
  
**About 2 pm**

Lydia walks in the auto shop's front door with a gourmet hot chocolate with whip cream and a cherry on top.

Stiles eyes her as she hands him the cup. "I wasn't expecting you to bring me a coffee or hot chocolate in the middle of the day. Maybe this morning or tonight, but not 2 pm-ish."

Lydia says, "I'll bring you coffee at midnight if I want. You never know when a girl needs to have a chat."

Stiles spots the phone number on the side of the cup, right next to the name Sugar Lips. He arches his brow as he asks, "sugar lips?"

Lydia grabs for the cup as he moves out of her reach.

He heartily laughs as Lydia stomps her foot. "Hurry up and drink that, Stilinski! I want that cup back. I have a hot date to plan! _A scorching hot date."_  
  
Stiles smiles, eats the cherry, and chugs the hot chocolate. He then wipes his mouth and hands her the cup.

She looks at him with a wry grin.

Stiles smiles. "Thank you. That was very good, Sugar Lips."  
  
Uncle Alexi walks in, shirtless, and spots Lyds.

He stops and stares at Lydia. " _ **Is**_ there a reason one of the Martin women are on my doorstep? I'm not overly fond of Banshees."

Lydia stares at him nervously as he crosses his arms and stares at her.

Alexi does make a formidable sight.  
  
Stiles nods, walks around the counter, and drapes his arm over Lydia's shoulders. "Alexi. Meet Lydia. She's the one that brought me back from the dead and helped keep me alive when Noggy was stealing my life force. She's a _**good**_ friend."

She nervously holds up the coffee cup as Stiles says, "she brought me a hot chocolate, uncle."  
  
Lydia looks him up and down as she bites her lip. "Wow. You're in better shape than that werewolf that has the hots for Stiles."  
  
Stiles blushes and facepalms at that. _That's what she says to his uncle._ Damn! Most people would say hi.  
  
Alexi smiles and says, "now I _ **really** _want to meet this Peter! _**You**_ think I have a _**better**_ body than he does, huh?"  
  
Stiles smirks at Lydia. "And I thought you only liked girls."  
  
Lydia blushes. "Umm. Well. Some things are so impressive that it impresses even those that aren't into that."

She looks googly-eyed at Alexi. "Stiles says your the best when it comes to working on cars. I want to see if I can get a tuneup and an oil change."  
  
Alexi crosses his arms and says, "is that so? I happen to have an open stall right now. Shall I have my guys work on your car now?"  
  
She smiles and says, "that would be perfect. If it's not a bother."  
  
Alexi says, "no bother. Any _**good**_ friend of _ **Stiles**_ is a _friend of_ _ **mine**_. Misha! Wolfy! Get her keys. Stiles, give her your family discount."  
  
Misha walks over and flashes golden eyes as he takes her keys. "My pleasure, boss." He takes the keys and walks out the door.

  
  
Lydia stammers, "he's a werewolf. Stiles? Why didn't you tell me?"


	21. Lydia Finds Out

**FRIDAY  
****MARCH 8th, 2013**  
  
Stiles nods sagely. "Misha's an Omega. It's nobody's business what he is, nor where he lives or works. Hitler and his pack will not control peoples' lives because he happens to be an Alpha (true Alpha or no). He's not my Alpha, nor Misha's."  
  
Lydia adds, "maybe he was weaker than other Alphas in every way because he evolved that way from stress and unable to perform?"  
  
Stiles shrugs and looks in the direction that Misha walked. "Misha's lived here his entire life. He never bothers anyone. Leave him alone. Don't be like Scott, getting in everyone's business and judging them just because they aren't strictly human, or he wants to be in charge."  
  
She nods with a knowing smirk. "You're right. It's none of my business. No supernatural predators are here bumping heads with the pretentious Alpha child. This is the safest Beacon Hills has been in a long time. I'm not rocking the boat. I kind of like no Pack ruining things."  
  
Stiles smiles thankfully at her. "Thanks, Lyds."  
  
She smiles and leans on him for her idea of a hug that doesn't mess up her dress or hair. "How does your uncle know about my family and me?"  
  
Alexi happens to walk back in right then and shines his white witch eyes at her. "We witches know about the banshees in our city. Stiles is finally learning our family legacy. I had to undo the spells that Darach did to my nephew to allow the Nogitsune to possess him. I'm now teaching Stiles how to protect himself."

He looks at Stiles and then back at her with his normal eyes. "If you deem yourself _**his**_ enemy, then you are _**mine**_ as well, and I have _**no**_ problems putting down anyone that _**threatens**_ my family. Friend or Foe? Which are you, little white woman?" _Banshee means white woman._  
  
She looks at Stiles as he nervously fidgets with some papers on the desk. She turns back to Alexi. "You're all witches? Wait!" She turns back to Stiles. "You were an untrained witch, and that's why the Nogitsune chose you over a hunter and a werewolf."  
  
Alexi shakes his head. "No, the Darach, Deaton, put things in the sacrifice spell so he could draw from _**all three**_ sacrifices. The female hunter's _**dead**_ , I _**broke the connection**_ to Stiles, and Scott is unstable, impressionable, but will soon be _**out of its reach**_."  
  
She proudly smirks as she puts her hand on her hip. "Peter and I showed Melissa evidence that Scott betrayed Stiles. Scott's now in Florida with his dad."  
  
Alexi looks at Stiles for confirmation.  
  
He nods as Danny walks into the shop and stops when he sees Lyds. He nods at Alexi. "Dad. Meet Lydia, our new D&D player in our Thursday Tabletop group."  
  
Alexi's lip twitches as he suppresses a laugh.  
  
Stiles bites his lip. "Cousin, Uncle just told her we're witches, and he knows she's a banshee."

Danny looks a little surprised, but then he smiles. "Good. I hate keeping secrets." He leans towards me. "Does she know about Lucien?"  
  
She nods. "The big dog Stiles takes for runs."  
  
Danny sighs. _"That would be a no."_  
  
Stiles ducks his head guiltily. "Dad told her that I walk a wolfhound named Lucien belonging to one of the workers here at the shop."  
  
Alexi laughs. "Well, that's sort of true. Do you think you might want to tell her the truth?"

She looks in confusion at each of them as she tries to figure out what she's missing.  
  
Stiles smiles shyly. He looks at Lydia. "Peter was in his usual, nocturnal, wolfy-stalker, mate-mode at the time, and I'm not ready for him to know about this." He takes a deep breath and kicks off his shoes ... shines golden eyes, leans forward, and shifts into his wolf Lucien.

  
_**  
**_ Lydia's jaw drops in shock. _"Holy Shit! Oh crap! My God!_ You were still connected to the demon when Scott bit it, so Alpha Scott bit you, and _he has no clue._ How have you been hiding that?! Wait! _**Can**_ werewolves have panic attacks? Hold it, Scott _**can't**_ shift into a full wolf!" She quickly jumps from one wild thought to the next without waiting for an answer.  
  
Stiles shifts back and says, "Scott had a panic attack at least once that I know of while he was split from Allison."  
  
Alexi looks at Stiles and the hot chocolate cup as he realizes what she's saying. "Yes, they can, and only those that fully accept their wolfish nature can shift into a wolf." He looks at Stiles as Danny crosses his arms. "Stiles, you had a panic attack yesterday?"  
  
Stiles puts on his shoes and says, "um, yeah. I panicked that Melissa was disappointed in how weak and stupid I was about Scott and his betrayals. She told me that she's not, so I'm okay now. When she saw my evidence on my phone, I panicked. I tried to hold off the panic attack and fight it back, but I passed out in the bathroom at Denny's." Stiles sighs as he leans on the counter. "When I woke up, Melissa and dad were tending to me and getting me out of there while Peter was paying off the Denny's owner for the door he smashed to get to me. Lydia was running interference with the waitress." He looks at Lydia. "The only ones that know I'm a werewolf is my dad, Uncle Alexi, Danny, and Misha."  
  
She nods and cocks her eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Peter was in his nocturnal, werewolf, _stalker-mate mode_ , huh? _That means he's your mate?"_  
  
He runs his hands down his face in annoyance. "Crap! You had to catch that." He composes himself a little. "Peter watches over my house every night. I can hear his running _self-dialog_ about everything he hears from us, and I see his glowing blue aura from across the street no matter how dark it is because... _**he glows.**_ Yes! Peter is my mate. He knows it. I _**now**_ know... because I see the mating aura myself. He doesn't know I know. I'm underage, until next month. I'm not saying anything until after my eighteenth birthday. Happy?!"  
  
She smiles like the cat that ate the canary. She purrs, _"I'm ecstatic."_  
  
Alexi smiles and says, "when a wolf finds their mate, they must ensure their mate is safe, or they can't sleep from worrying about them. He compensates by watching Stiles' house most of the night, from the shadows or across the street, ensuring my nephew's safety. It's an unpaid bodyguard for Stiles, and Stiles promised his dad and me no sex until after they date a few times."  
  
Stiles sighs in frustration. "Great. We're one big happy family, and everyone knows everyone's secrets. Can we change the subject? I'm worried that the wrong person will hear? I don't want any hunters or enemies finding out and going after my dad or me. That was the _**only**_ reason I turned down Peter when he _**offered**_ me the bite a couple of years ago."  
  
Lyds jaw drops again. "Bat-shit Crazy Peter _**offered**_ you the bite? He attacked and turned Scott _**without asking**_ _ **!**_ He offered it to you and then _**walked away**_ when you said **no?"**

  
Danny says, "a wolf will never force their mate, and they'll never hurt them either. His wolf won't let him, even if he's not entirely stable."  
  
Lyds nods. "I take it a werewolf sees that aura on their mate even if that person is human?"  
  
Alexi says, "yes. All werewolves have a perfect mate, but their chances of finding and hooking up with them is like 25%. Misha didn't wait, so he married and started a family. He later met his mate and couldn't do anything because he was already married. Now he's a widower, and she's currently married."  
  
Stiles nods. "She's in the process of getting a divorce, and he's making himself available to pick up the pieces since they'll both be available."  
  
Danny asks, "so Peter knew about you all along?"  
  
Stiles nods. "Since the first time that he saw me. I didn't find out until I asked Misha what the blue aura around Peter means. I knew the concept of werewolf mates exist from researching for Scott. I never understood how they knew their perfect mate. Peter and I _ **are**_ a lot alike. I find him attractive, mentally and physically."  
  
The four talk about werewolves, witches, and banshees in generalizations while the mechanics work on her car.   
  
Lydia happily waves as she drives away.  
  


They close the shop for the night.  
  
Danny and Stiles do their magick training in the back of the shop while the mechanics clean and lock up.


	22. Zoonomica

**FRIDAY  
****MARCH 8th, 2013  
****5 pm**  
  
Stiles finishes his magick training and then drives to his hidden parking spot about half a mile from the zoo. He runs to his new refuge. He hears his dad's heartbeat at the back gate but doesn't see him. He cautiously approaches and quietly calls, "dad?"  
  
A moment later, a highly camouflaged Sheriff stands up from a bush about five feet from him.

Stiles jumps back with a small yelp and lands on his ass on the ground. Stiles clutches his chest as he says, "Damn, Dad! You gave me a heart attack! Why couldn't I see your body heat? I knew your heartbeat was nearby, but I couldn't pinpoint it."

  
John says, "this is the _Silent Sniper Warrior Uniform_ employed by the special forces. It blocks infrared and ultraviolet and diffuses my heartbeat, not to mention it keep out bugs. The one good thing I got from being a sniper."  
  
Stiles whistles in appreciation as John offers him a hand to help him up off the ground. Stiles takes his hand up and then leads him around to the tunnel entrance into the zoo's water filtration area.  
  
John's impressed that Stiles has the foresight to walk from stone to stone so that he leaves no footprints and smiles with pride as he follows behind his son, step by step.  
  
Stiles leads him to his command center and shows him the camera setup.

John's impressed and will help him replace his cameras with conventional cameras. He wants to ensure Stiles' safety at all costs.

  
  
Stiles shows him the panic room with loads of food from the fifties. _Most of it's still good._ It's mostly **M** eals **R** eadyto **E** at (MREs) from military surplus and lots and lots of cans. They need to replace the water, but the dried stuff, half of the canned stuff, and jerkies are still good. Stiles shows John his copy of the blueprints for the zoo's ground level and his own gridded maps of the tunnels that aren't on any blueprints.  
  
John easily reads them and points out things Stiles was trying to decipher.  
  
Stiles gives him an inquiring look.  
  
John smiles. "I dropped out of college when Claudia was pregnant so that I could provide a steady and safe income for my family. I was in my last year to be an architect. I took over my uncle's job as a deputy sheriff and kept with it."  
  
Stiles smiles. "Wow! I'm impressed."  
  
John studies the plans for a moment. "I'll finish mapping out the blueprints for the tunnels. We'll keep them down here because we don't want them left lying around for the wrong people to find."  
  
Stiles nods. "Yeah. You have to know about down here to find it, and you have to be down here to locate the blueprints of down here. _That's the best security."_  
  
They both figure out how to make the shelter more livable if they need to stay hidden from hunters for an extended amount of time. They'll get cots, clothes, and hygiene supplies. They can easily take showers or baths in the fountain or water sanitization area.  
  
John wants to set a booby trap, but Stiles points out that would indicate to the enemy that someone is, in fact, hiding out here.  
  
Stiles suggests a booby trap that doesn't do anything to the enemy but does _set off an early warning system_ to let them know they have uninvited guests. It would be kind of like an early detection system.  
  
John likes that idea. 

They toss ideas back and forth. They come up with a pressure plate in the main entranceway, and the tunnel exits.  
  
John also wants one at both gates. They'll bury them, so they are harder to detect. He can set it so that anything over 70 lbs stepping on it will set it off. They don't want to hurt any stray dogs or small deer. There's no large deer or elk around. John wants them constantly active and doesn't want to turn them off because he can easily avoid it. He can subtly text Stiles whenever he needs to walk over one if he needs it deactivated. If someone is with him, like a hunter, he won't.  
  
_They begin building the pressure plates and get two of them finished._

John will make three more tomorrow.

Stiles uses magic to lift the heavy concrete floor tiles in the back tunnel to put them in place and activate it.  
  
They both dig the hole in front of the gate and put it in place. That was a lot of hard work, but it was kind of fun to work next to his dad, talking with him for over an hour or so about unimportant everyday things not involving the supernatural.

  
They head out, and Stiles shows his dad where he parks Roscoe when he comes here.  
  
They drive back to the house.  
  
Stiles easily spots Peter in the tree across the street, intently watching for him to return home.  
  
The Stilinski men grab their showers and meet Melissa at the Wildflower Cafe for supper. It's a healthier buffet with many vegan options, so Stiles doesn't have any issues with John eating there.  
  
Stiles finds that even though he now has an overwhelming desire to eat _**healthily**_ , his near vegan status is practically _**nonexistent**_. He now wants to eat _**a lot**_ of meat in his meals. Not just poultry. He wants bigger animals like deer, elk, cow, bear. Stiles realizes that the closer the full moon gets, the more his desire to hunt down a deer grows. He remembers that _werewolf Scott_ ate less meat than human Scott, so _why does werewolf Stiles want more meat?_  
  
Lucien sneers, "that pup hated his wolf and ignored all canine instincts. You love me and embrace both halves of us. Hunting and eating fresh meat make you a _**stronger**_ wolf. Eating fresh meat makes you stronger and faster. It builds thicker and better muscles."

Stiles likes the sound of that.

**Later**

Leaving the restaurant, Stiles spots the tell-tale blue glow on the roof of the building across the way as they walk out.

Stiles, John, and Melissa say their goodbyes for the night and head for their cars.  
  
John climbs in the passenger seat of the jeep, slowly and with a little grunt. "I'm going to sleep good tonight."  
  
When Stiles gives him a concerned look, he adds, "it's a good tired, not a bad one, son. I enjoyed the day. This is the _**most**_ time I have spent with you since you were maybe five years old. I like it."  
  
Stiles smiles as he starts up the jeep and drives them home.


End file.
